When Venger Came to Storybrooke
by Model Builder
Summary: When Venger is touched by The Evil Queen's Dark Curse, he finds himself trapped in a strange, alien world, and he will stop at nothing to get back to The Realm. But to get home, he must face his most dangerous opponent to date: a mother protecting her son.
1. A New Friend

"**Once Upon a Time" / "Dungeons and Dragons Cartoon"**

**Fanfiction Crossover**

**When Venger Came to Storybrooke**

**Disclaimer:** "Once Upon A Time" is owned and created by the team of Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz. The "Dungeons and Dragons Cartoon Series" is owned by Marvel Productions and TSR Entertainment and Toei Animations. I do not own any of the characters depicted in this story. This Fan Fiction Crossover is the work of a hobbyist having fun with some of his favorite characters, and nothing more. I hope that this is a sufficient disclaimer.

**Historian's Note:** This story takes place during the First Season of "Once Upon A Time" after Episode 9; "True North" and prior to the events in Episode 11; "Fruit of the Poisonous Tree." Some events in later seasons (for example, Season 2, Episode 17; "Welcome to Storybrooke,") are alluded to, but have been established to have taken place _prior_ to the events in this story.

This story takes place after the Third Season of the "Dungeons and Dragons Cartoon," but before the unmade Last Episode of the series; "Requiem."

As an episode of "Once Upon A Time," the Title Card will depict Venger astride his Nightmare with Shadow Demon hovering to his right in the blue forest setting.

**Chapter 1: A New Friend**

When school was dismissed Henry Mills went straight to the Storybrooke Town Hall. The first thing he noticed was that two cars were parked in front that he had never seen before; a green Saturn station wagon with Maine rental plates, and a black Ferrari Testarossa convertible with California plates. A well dressed, but otherwise nondescript man stood next to the Ferrari. Though the stranger never moved away from the Ferrari, his eyes followed Henry as he walked up to the town hall's front entrance, giving Henry the uneasy feeling that he was being shadowed.

The moment Henry was inside he heard loud voices coming from the Mayor's Office and went to investigate. The woman who called herself Henry's mother (but who Henry knew was really the Evil Queen from the Fairytales,) watched poker-faced while three people that Henry had never seen before in Storybrooke were having a heated discussion.

A white man and an African American woman in their early 40's were facing a very pale, tall man of undeterminable age. That man stood almost seven feet tall and wore his long, black hair tied in a ponytail that went halfway down the back of his expensive Italian suit. But what really caught Henry's attention was the Bluetooth cellphone the man wore in his left ear, sprouting a red antenna that was at least four inches high. On anyone else, this would look ridiculous, thought Henry. But somehow, this man was able to make it look downright intimidating.

Adding to the intimidation factor was the man's stentorian voice. When he spoke, the room almost shook. "I might have known that you or some of your companions would come to Storybrooke to poison the waters against RealmCorp!"

But the young man and woman were not easily intimidated. The woman said, "If you want to talk about "poisoning waters," Mr. Talionis; why don't you tell Mayor Mills how RealmCorp poisoned the ground water near your plant in River City, Iowa, a few years back."

"Be very careful of leveling false accusations, Mrs. Montgomery," said Mr. Talionis. "Or one day, I shall have you up on charges of slander that even your legal acrobatics will not save you from."

"My wife's "legal acrobatics" were enough to force RealmCorp to pay compensation for the damages your factory caused, Mr. Talionis," said the younger man, his voice dripping with barely restrained sarcasm. "But not nearly enough to pay for all of the suffering you caused by RealmCorp's disregard for the safety of the community. Of course, seeing you in an orange jumpsuit doing _real_ hard-time would have been a start . . . ."

"Do not be so cavalier, Mr. Montgomery," said Mr. Talionis, more to Mayor Mills than to the young couple. "It was simply more expedient for RealmCorp to pay your legal-extortion in a sealed, out-of-court settlement than to fight your baseless charges and be tried in the media. In any event, you had nothing solid to blame RealmCorp for the plight of those unfortunate people, despite your pious pronouncements.

"Mayor Mills, if you would only reconsider my offer to –"

"Henry . . . ," said Mayor Regina Mills, just now noticing her son in the doorway. "How long have you been standing there? I am in a very important meeting right now."

"I just got out of school," said Henry; the "mom" that should have been at the end of the sentence was conspicuously absent. "You told me to come straight to the Town Hall when school was over."

Regina nodded to the man who was speaking when she first noticed Henry. "Son, this is Mr. Alessandro Talionis. He is the owner and CEO of RealmCorp, and he is here to discuss the possibility of opening up a chemical processing plant here in Storybrooke. "

Regina then indicated the other man and woman. "And this is Eric and Diana Montgomery. They represent a group of social activists and have come here to persuade me to . . . do otherwise.

"We'll talk later, Henry. For now, please wait for us to finish in the small meeting room. The Montgomery's son is waiting there for his parents. He is about your age. Why don't you go and introduce yourself?"

Henry nodded and left. A few seconds later, Mr. Talionis raised an eyebrow, and said, "_You_ have a _son_, Regina?"

"I do," replied Regina coolly. "What of it?"

"Interesting . . . ," said Mr. Talionis. "I did not think that the man existed who could _tolerate _your presence long enough for you to _conceive_ one . . . ."

The Montgomerys looked at each other wide-eye. Mr. Talionis' statement was hardly calculated to win over the Mayor to RealmCorp's proposal.

"Not that it is any of your business . . . _Alessandro_," said Mayor Mills. "But Henry is adopted."

"Ah, that explains much . . . ."

Diana said, "I take it that this means that you have given up on your plans to exploit the people and environment of Storybrooke, Mr. Talionis?"

"Yeah," said Eric. "There can be no way that Mayor Mills would accept your offer now after what _you_ just said."

"Just so the two of you know," said Regina. "Mr. Talionis and I have had . . . dealings before. It was some time ago, and in another place. He _knew_ that he did not have any chance to convince me the moment he came in my front door. Which makes me wonder . . . why did you _really_ come here, Alessandro . . . ?"

When Henry got to the smaller meeting room, he saw a boy who had to be the Montgomery's son. He was a little taller than Henry was, a bit on the "chunky" side but not really fat, and had medium brown skin and dark, curly hair. But he was too busy peeking out the window from behind the curtain to notice Henry coming in to the room.

Henry said, "Hi. My name is Henry. Henry Mills . . . yeah, I know: "Henry" _is_ kind of an old-fashioned name . . . . So, how's it going?"

The Montgomery's son snapped his head toward where Henry was, quickly took his measure, and immediately went back to looking out the window, saying. "I don't think your name is "old-fashioned." My Godfather's name is Henry, too. But everyone calls him "Hank." Just be happy that you don't have a name that makes you sound like a character from "Game of Thrones," or something."

"What do you mean by that?"

"My name is Kosar. Kosar Montgomery. Your mom is the Mayor of Storybrooke, right?"

Henry started to say that Regina Mills was not really his mother, but before he could say that or anything else, Kosar continued. "My mom and dad are talking with her right now. They brought me along so my mom – she's a lawyer – could talk to yours "mom to mom," instead of as "lawyer to mayor." She and dad want to warn your mom about what happens to small towns that make deals with RealmCorp, and its CEO, Alessandro Talionis.

"We knew that Talionis was planning to send a RealmCorp _representative_ to talk with your mom, though we did not expect Mr. Talionis to come here in person. But that's a blessing in disguise; at least for me. That's his "car" out there, parked next to our rental. I'm hoping to get a _good_ look at it, this time . . . ."

"The Ferrari?" said Henry. "Well, I have to admit that it is a sweet ride."

"Mom and dad say Mr. Talionis bought it with "blood money," said Kosar. "That he got as rich as he has by _criminal _means, rather than by _really_ earning it.

"But mom and dad are _wrong_ if they think Mr. Talionis "bought" that car, Henry," said Kosar. "You may call it a "sweet ride." But there is nothing "sweet" about it. In fact, it isn't really a _car_ at all . . . ."

"What are you talking about?" said Henry. So far, Kosar was making no sense. (And for a moment, Henry wondered if this is how _he _sounded to everyone he tried to talk to about what was _really_ happening in Storybrooke.) "If that isn't a car, I don't know what is . . . ."

"Good . . . ," said Kosar; but more to himself than to Henry. "Mr. Talionis' "Personal Secretary," Mr. Damon, is finally coming inside. Now I have a chance!" Kosar rounded to Henry. "Is there another way out of here; one where they won't see us going outside?"

"Uh, sure . . . ," said Henry. "It's out back."

"Well, show me!" said Kosar. He took a digital camera out of his pocket. Henry noticed that it was a little bigger than normal cameras and was a desert tan color. "We have to go _now_! We may not have a lot of time to work with!"

Henry led the way. Once outside, Kosar started to sprint to where the Ferrari was parked.

"I tried to get the "Ferrari's" number the last time I saw it," panted Kosar as he broke into a run. "Got several pictures with my iPhone in Iowa before Mr. Damon almost caught me, but the pictures didn't come out!

"So I got _this_ camera on eBay a couple of weeks ago. It's military surplus, and it's supposed to be "pulse-hardened." Maybe it will work against the _defenses_ that Mr. Talionis has in place!"

"You don't need to get a picture!" said Henry, struggling to keep up. For a "husky" kid, Kosar sure moved fast. "I _saw_ the license plate on my way in. It says "NGTMRE."

"Not the _license plate_, Henry," said Kosar. "I want the VIN; the "_Vehicle Identification Number_." I'm betting that it either does not _have_ one, or that it won't match _anything_ on the California DMV's database!"

"Why do you think it won't . . . ?"

"I'll explain later, Henry! When we're done and back inside before anyone notices!"

When the boys got close to the Ferrari, Henry could see that it was no ordinary car, even by Exotic Italian Sports Car standards. For one thing, the this Ferraris looked subtly larger than the Ferraris that Henry had seen in magazine photos; and it would _have_ to be to accommodate the large man currently speaking with Mayor Mills. Henry was certain that if a stock Ferrari Testarossa were to be parked next to this car, it would be noticeably smaller.

And unlike most Ferraris, (which came in any color you wanted, so long as it was their special brand of red,) this one was painted a mile-deep glossy black with (non-Ferrari) red trim.

Though not a car-freak, Henry knew that Ferrari did not make a Testarossa convertible. If a customer wanted one, they had to buy the factory-stock car and take it to a customizing shop to have it modified; a job that could cost nearly as much as the car itself.

As Kosar began taking pictures through the windshield on the left side with his "pulse-hardened" camera, Henry went over to the front and noticed the badge on the hood. It looked like the standard Ferrari emblem, at first glance. But when you looked closer, the prancing horse on the shield looked . . . different.

_No,_ thought Henry. _"Different" is the wrong word. The horse on the shield looked vicious; maybe even demonic . . . ._

Suddenly, the headlights came on, catching Henry by surprise. He moved away from the car, to where Kosar was, and was even more shocked to see the Ferrari's front wheels slowly turn in his direction as he moved. Henry knew that something was not quite right with Storybrooke. But at least the cars here did not act like they had a mind of their own. "K-_Kosar_ . . . ?

"Uh, yeah . . , it will do things like that sometimes, if you get too close," said Kosar matter-of-factly. He pocketed the camera and took out a small notepad and a pencil and handed them to Henry. "Now, I'm going to _read off_ the VIN, and I want you to write it down, in case this camera also doesn't get a picture that we can use."

Kosar began to read-off the Ferrari's VIN, one letter or number at a time. He got up to the third digit when Henry felt a firm hand on his shoulder. Henry looked behind him, and saw the man Kosar called "Mr. Damon." _I didn't hear him coming at all,_ thought Henry. _How did he sneak up behind us so quietly . . . ?_

"Attempting to _vandalize_ my employer's car, are we boys?" said Mr. Damon. "I think that the _law_ will be very interested . . . ."

"The law is indeed very interested," said a voice from behind Mr. Damon, who was surprised in turn to see a young, blonde woman in a red leather jacket with a badge hanging from her belt standing behind _him_. "I'm Sheriff Emma Swan. Now let go of _my_ son."


	2. A Confrontation of Evil

**Chapter 2: A Confrontation of Evil**

"M-my Queen . . . ?" The guard who drew the short straw approached the Evil Queen with an intense fear that only a week ago would have been simple trepidation. The closer The Day came when the Evil Queen planned on casting the Dark Curse, the more easily angered she became; for the Evil Queen saw attempts to thwart her plans around every corner.

The guard found the Queen in her solar, studying a painting on the wall. It was a painting of her father, Prince Henry, in his younger days. She had killed the poor man herself to obtain the final ingredient she needed to cast the Dark Curse. And once cast, the Dark Curse would send all it touched to the dreaded Land Without Magic. But for the unfortunate guard, even the fear of banishment to that horrible place paled before his all-too-well-known fear of what could happen to _anyone_ who brings unwelcomed news to the Queen . . . .

Though the guard called out to her, the Evil Queen did not acknowledge his presence. After a few moments, the guard repeated his attempt to catch his sovereign's attention. "My Queen, you have . . . a visitor."

This time, she heard him. Abruptly the Evil Queen turned from the painting and strode briskly over to the guard, her face a mask of barely controlled rage. "What _part_ of, 'I do not wish to be disturbed for _any_ reason,' did YOU _not_ understand . . . ?"

The guard felt his throat go dry. When the Queen said "YOU," she emphasized the word by poking him on his chest. And her finger was still there as she awaited his answer. Though the guard wore a steel cuirass as part of his uniform, he knew that it would be worthless if the Queen chose to punish him in her favorite manner.

"M-my Queen," said the guard in what almost sounded like a squeak. "I-it is V-Venger, The Force of Evil . . . from the Land of Vibrant Colors. He dema- _requests_ an audience with -"

"Well you may tell him," said the Evil Queen. "That I am . . . _preoccupied_, and that I have no time for him or anyone else!"

Before the guard could reply, he was flung aside by the power of dark magic; his body slamming against the stone wall before he slid to the floor, mercifully unconscious. But that was merely an act of fate; for there was _nothing_ even remotely merciful about the Warlock who cast the spell that sent him into the wall.

The Evil Queen glared angrily at the approaching interloper, who strode towards her as confident as her guard's approach had been timid.

Venger, The Archmage from the Land of Vibrant Colors stood over seven feet tall, not counting the single horn that adorned his headdress. He wore flowing robes of red, black and gray. And these robes were decorated with dragon-like wings that had been enchanted to move as though they were part of him to add emphasis to his speech and gestures.

As Venger came closer, he met the Evil Queen's glare with a fearsome look of his own; a look that came from burning red eyes set in a pale, nose-less face with a fanged mouth. And he was not alone. Following a short distance behind the Warlock floated his ever-present servant, Shadow Demon. When Venger stopped in front of the Evil Queen, the living shadow stopped as well, hovering to his Venger's right, eagerly awaiting any instructions that his master might give him.

But the Evil Queen was not impressed, much less intimidated. "You had better have a very good reason for entering _my_ castle _uninvited_, Venger! I have important matters to attend to and they _don't _include a visit from the likes of you!"

When Venger responded, his voice reverberated off the walls. "This is _not_ a social call, Regina. I _know_ that you are planning to unleash the Curse that you obtained from the Dark One upon your Enchanted Forest. I have come to persuade you to . . . reconsider."

"Who told _you_?" said Regina. She turned her gaze toward Shadow Demon. "Was it _this_ fugitive from Neverland? Well, _it_ should know that I don't like being spied on . . . !" At Regina's implied threat, Shadow Demon quickly moved behind his master for safety.

"How I came to possess this knowledge is not important, Regina," said Venger. "What is important is that you obviously do not understand the consequences of what you are planning to do. If you truly believe that you will find the happiness that you so desperately seek by trading with the Dark One, you are sorely misled."

Before Regina could reply, another voice said, "Oh, and I am sorely _wounded _by your mistrust, Venger!" The comment was followed up by an irritating, child-like laugh that grated on Venger's nerves. "But my bargains with Regina are none of your concern."

Venger slowly turned to the source of the voice; an ugly little imp with skin like gold scales. "I was given to believe that you had been imprisoned in the mine of the Dwarves, Dark One."

Rumpelstiltskin made a dismissive gesture with his hand. "Oh, _come now_, Venger! We _both_ know that no prison can hold _me_ unless I _want_ to be held!" The Dark One made another grating snicker. "But surely you are not here to dissuade the Queen solely out of concern for _her_ well-being, _hmmmm_?"

"Yes, Venger," said Regina. "Exactly _why_ do you not want me to cast the Dark Curse? Out of concern for _my_ well-being? In case you haven't noticed, I'm a Big Girl and I can take care of myself. So as long as you are here, why don't you tell me the _real_ reason why you don't want me to unleash the Dark Curse?"

"Oh, I can think of one or two," said the Dark One. "Or three, or four or five or . . . _six_ . . . !"

"I . . . see . . ," said Regina. "Those six _children_ that have been giving you so much trouble for the past few years are _hiding out_ in my Enchanted Forest. Correct me if I am wrong, Venger, but do they not come _from_ the Land Without Magic?" Regina smiled as her mind swiftly connected the dots. "Very clever of them! They intend to use _my_ Curse as a way to get _back_ to their home world! Very clever indeed . . . .

"You know, Venger, I would have thought that you would be happy that my Curse will remove six of your most formidable enemies from the playing field. But what I can't figure out is why you would not want me to cast the Dark Curse, since my doing so can only benefit you . . . ?"

"Ohhhhh, the aforementioned brats _are_ hiding out in the Enchanted Forest; awaiting the Curse that they think will take them home!" snickered the Dark One. Regina allowed herself an inward smile as she saw Venger's fists tighten in response to the Dark One's annoying laugh. "But if it is an answer you want, Regina, then I'll give you a hint . . . .

"The brats are _not_ the six reasons that I was thinking of! _Whooohoohoohoo_!" Again, Venger cringed.

Regina nodded. "Ah, now _all_ is crystal clear." She turned to Venger, and said, "You are worried that they will take their _Weapons of Power_ with them, is that it . . . ?"

Venger glared down at Regina, though his eyes did not meet hers. No doubt the Archmage from the Land of Vibrant Colors was merely contemplating his reply. But Regina, (who was wearing one of her typically low-cut dresses that she had enchanted to remain in place even though they looked like a "wardrobe malfunction" waiting to happen,) decided to put Venger off-guard and have a little fun in the process.

Smiling inwardly, Regina thrust out her chest and said, "If you like what you see, Venger, commission a draughtsman; it will last longer . . . ."

Rumpelstiltskin literally rolled on the floor as he laughed at the Evil Queen's jape. But Venger was either too uninterested in what Regina had on display, or was too focused on his obsession with the Young Ones and their Weapons of Power to care for anything else.

Regina said, "Tell me, Venger. For a supposedly all-powerful Archmage, how is it that six frightened children have been able to thwart every plan that you have concocted to take their Weapons since they first came to our world three years ago?"

"Do not be too dismissive of the Young Ones' abilities, Regina," said Venger. "The Weapons of Power provided by the Dungeon Master are most formidable; especially when they are wielded by those whose hearts are pure."

Regina raised an eyebrow and said, "Well, if your only problem was the Young Ones' 'pure hearts,' then you should have brought them to _me_ a long time ago. I could have taken care of _those_ six little details for you quite easily . . . ."

"No doubt . . . ," said Venger dryly. "But in any event, the Young Ones must not be allowed to escape from our world with the Weapons of Power!"

Regina smiled and said, "Tell you what, Venger. A few days yet remain before I unleash the Dark Curse. If it will stop your whining, I will give you permission to search my lands for the children and their weapons. Do whatever you will when you find them; they are of no concern of mine.

"But know this: You only have a few days at most to find them. Trust me; you do _not_ want to be within my Enchanted Forest when my Curse is cast, or you shall join us in the Land Without Magic. And if you are touched by my Curse, don't come running to me to complain. You will have nobody but yourself to blame for your misery."

"You know _nothing_ of "misery," Regina," said Venger. "My father, the Dungeon Master . . . ."

"Oh, boo-hoo, _BOO-HOOOOOOO_!" spat Rumpelstiltskin, who added with a childlike chant, "Venger's-father-is-mean-to-him! _Venger's-father-is-mean-to-him_!"

In an instant, the Dark One's face was inches from The Force of Evil's face. "Listen up, _No-Nose_! You aren't the _only_ one around here with "Daddy Issues!" I could tell you stories about MY father that would wilt your horn! And if you don't believe _me_, just ask your shadowy servant! His elder brother serves my father in Neverland!"

Shadow Demon said, "Do not believe him, Master! I have not spoken with my brother for over a thousand years! And even if I did, it is not our place as _servants_ to discuss _anything _about our respective Masters that we may be privy to!"

But instead of accusing Shadow Demon of any impropriety, Venger said, "Come, Shadow Demon. There is work to be done. We must search the Enchanted Forest before there is no forest here _to _search. The Young Ones must _not_ escape with my Weapons of Power!"

Venger strode towards the balcony of Regina's solar, where a magnificent nightmare awaited him. He stroked the beast's flank, and when the creature bowed its head, he took his place upon her back.

Regina, who prided herself on her own equestrian skills and eye for horseflesh, nodded with grudging admiration. "I have to admit that she is . . . impressive, Venger. I'm given to understand that a nightmare can fly as fast as my words can reach your ears from across the room. But make sure to ride swiftly: Soon, my Curse shall be unleashed . . . ."

And without another word, Venger flew toward the soon to be gone Enchanted Forest, with Shadow Demon by his side.

As soon as Venger left, Regina let out an exasperated sigh, shook her head and said, "What is it that Maleficent sees in him? She can do so much _better _. . . ."

"Be careful, Master," advised the living shadow as they flew out of Regina's earshot. "The Evil Queen is _not_ to be trusted. I believe she may be laying a _trap_ for us with her supposedly "generous" offer!"

"We shall soon see, Shadow Demon," said Venger unconcerned. "But for _now_, we must find Dungeon Master's Young Ones, and claim the Weapons of Power before we may do anything else."

"And when we find them and you claim the Weapons of Power," said Shadow Demon. "What then?"

"And then," said Venger firmly. "We shall focus all of our efforts on locating the Dark One's Dagger. Once _that _talisman is also in our possession . . . Rumpelstiltskin shall pay dearly for his insolence and disrespect. Oh, HOW the Dark One shall _pay_ . . . ."


	3. An Alliance Forms

**Chapter 3: An Alliance Forms**

Henry Mills and Kosar Montgomery stood in the middle of the Mayor's Office. Eric and Diana stood next to their son, and Regina stood next to Henry. Across from them, Mr. Talionis stood silently as his Personal Secretary, Mr. Damon, told Sheriff Swan what he claimed to have seen.

"These two little _brats_ were preparing to _vandalize_ my employer's car, sheriff," said Mr. Damon in the oily tone of a practiced sycophant. "I was there in time to stop them before they could begin, but I heard them discuss their plans . . . ." Mr. Damon then began to describe the boys' alleged plans to slash tires, key paint, spray graffiti and smash headlights.

When Mr. Damon was finished, Alessandro Talionis nodded, turned to Sheriff Swan and said, "I would like to file charges against these two. You will place them under arrest, Sheriff." Mayor Mills started to protest, but Emma spoke before she could.

"I have no cause to arrest these boys, Mr. Talionis," said Emma. "From what I saw, they were only _admiring _your customized Ferrari; as I am sure you would have done if you were ever in their position when you were 10 years old. I _did_ see Kosar take a few pictures with a camera, but at no time did these boys _ever_ touch your car.

"In addition, I saw no knives to slash tires or keys to scratch paint, much less anything to smash headlights or cans of spray paint." Emma then moved closer to Mr. Talionis, lowering her voice. "And _you_ should know that I have a special . . . _superpower_; I can _tell _when someone is _lying_. Let's just say that your Personal Secretary's pants are on fire like an active volcano."

"Thank you, Sheriff," said Regina curtly. "You may go, now."

"Who are these people, Madame Mayor?" said the blonde woman as she gave Mr. Talionis and his "Personal Secretary" a hard look. "I've never seen them here in Storybrooke before."

"None of your concern, Miss Swan," said Regina. "Now don't you have any other duties to attend to? If so, then I suggest that you get out of my office and do your job, Sheriff."

Sheriff Swan rolled her eyes, nodded "goodbye" to Henry, and then left the Mayor's office.

"Besides," added Regina after the sheriff had left. "I taught MY son better than to vandalize another person's property. Mr. Damon's accusations are self-evidently false!"

"_My_ mom and dad also taught me to respect the property of others, Mayor Mills," said Kosar evenly. He then turned accusingly at Mr. Talionis, and added, "And they _also_ taught me that it is wrong to be cruel to _animals_; even if they are _demonic monsters_ . . . ."

Henry blinked. What had Kosar meant by that? Whatever it was, it made Mr. Talionis raise an eyebrow and scowl. It also made Kosar's mom let out a long, weary sigh and his father to shake his head and say, "And I _thought_ that we had been making progress, son . . . ."

After another moment of silence, Mr. Talionis said, "We have done all that we can here . . . for now. Come, Mr. Damon, we shall return to our rented house. We have many preparations to make for our presentation to the people of Storybrooke this coming weekend."

"What part of "forget it," did you not understand, Alessandro," said Regina. "There is _nothing _more to discuss. RealmCorp will not be constructing a Chemical Processing Plant in Storybrooke if I have anything to say about it."

"Perhaps if the decision were yours alone, _Madame Mayor_," said Mr. Talionis, making his final two words as dismissive as possible. "But I feel that your _constituents _might think otherwise; especially when one considers how much it will benefit the economy of Storybrooke.

"That is why I shall present RealmCorp's offer _directly_ to the people of Storybrooke. Your own laws allow this, by the way, in case you have not read them of late. And after my presentation, you will have the choice of giving RealmCorp the go-ahead, or prepare to be voted out of office in a special election. No doubt, your successor will be more amenable . . . ."

Without even saying goodbye, Alessandro Talionis and his Personal Secretary left the Mayor's Office, where nobody spoke until they heard the roar of the Ferrari's engine fade away from the Storybrooke Town Hall.

"_Now _he's done it!" said Diana fiercely. She put her arm protectively around her son's shoulder and continued. "Threatening to have our son _arrested _for just _looking_ at his car? That's a new low, even for Alessandro Talionis!" She turned to Regina and continued. "Don't worry, Mayor Mills. My husband and I will do _everything _we can to assist you!"

Mayor Mills smiled. "Thank you. But please call me "Regina." May I call you Diana and Eric?" Both of them nodded.

Eric said, "Unfortunately, Regina, Alessandro Talionis has something of a "track record" when it comes to taking advantage of small towns like yours. So we are able to provide you with _plenty _of hard documentation of RealmCorp's treatment of the communities they do business with, not to mention how they treat their workers."

Diana said, "After everyone in Storybrooke hears our counter-presentation, Mr. Talionis won't even be able to open a lemonade stand anywhere around here!

"I _still _can't believe that he actually plans to make the presentation _himself_! He's never done _that_, before!"

"Do you think we need to bring in the others?" said Eric thoughtfully.

"What "others" are you talking about?" said Regina.

"Other activists; people we've known ever since we were our boys' age," said Diana. "And we have been opposing Mr. Talionis and RealmCorp for nearly as long. We'll call them up when we get back to Granny's Bed and Breakfast. That's where we are staying, Regina."

"I know the place," said Regina. "The owner also runs the diner in town. Henry and I eat there often. Maybe the three of you would like to join us there for dinner tonight?"

"We'd like that very much," said Eric. But his wife's expression was hard to read.

"That depends," said Diana. "It's not that we don't _want_ to, but . . . what kind of _food_ does "Granny's Diner" serve?"

"Aw, _mom_ . . . ," said Kosar.

"Oh," said Regina. "Does your son have food allergies?"

"No," said Diana as she rolled her eyes. "He's on a self-imposed _see-food_ diet."

"Well, we have plenty of _seafood _here," said Regina. "This _is_ Maine, after all."

"No," said Diana. "I mean a "see-food" diet. When he "sees food;" he _eats_ it.

"I'm sure that Granny's food is good. But she probably serves a lot of fried foods and other high-calorie stuff in large portions that our son does _not_ need."

Eric said, "One meal at Granny's Diner won't hurt him!"

Diana rounded to her husband and said, "Maybe not _one _meal, Eric. But do you have to keep taking him out for pizza and ice cream every other day?"

"Just spending a little quality father-son time!" said Eric. "Something that I would have liked to have experienced a little of myself when I was his age!"

"Excuse me," said Regina. "Not to change the subject, but what did your son mean earlier when he said that Alessandro's Ferrari was really a "demonic monster?"

That stopped the Montgomery's family dispute about their son's weight, but seemed to have opened up another uncomfortable subject. Diana sighed and Eric shook his head. But before either could speak, their son said, "Mom and dad think I'm _crazy_ because I found out the _truth _about RealmCorp and Talionis!"

"We don't think that you are "crazy" son," said Diana. "But you do need help with sorting out the way you view the world. And I think that you meant to say _Mr._ Talionis, Kosar. He may be evil and amoral, but he is still an _adult_, and you will address him as such."

"But he's an _evil warlock_!" said Kosar. "And if you will only watch the DVD . . . ."

"That's enough of that, son," said Eric firmly. "Mayor Mills has enough on her plate right now! She doesn't need any of our family issues to complicate matters."

But Regina turned to Kosar and said, "An _evil warlock_ . . . ? You don't say . . . ?"

"And mom and dad and their friends from school are the ones who fight him!" said Kosar. "It's all in the DVD! Mom's the Acrobat and Dad's the Cavalier! My Godparents are the Ranger and the Thief – not that Aunt Sheila would ever _actually_ steal anything, but that's what . . . ."

"Kosar," said Diana with tightly controlled exasperation. "_Please_ wait for us outside, by the car. We have some things to discuss with Mayor Mills and we'll be out momentarily."

Kosar began to protest, but Henry said, "I'll go with him! Let's go, Kosar!"

When both boys left, Regina said, "Believe it or not, my son Henry has an "interesting" world view of his own. If you are planning to stay in Storybrooke for a while, I can recommend a very good therapist."

"Oh, _Eric_," said Diana. "Why did _this_ have to come up?"

"So it came up! We have nothing to be _ashamed_ of," replied Eric. "If our boys were both in dialysis or being treated for hemophilia or something like that, the three of us would be spilling our guts out to each other in a big parent-bonding-fest! Will somebody please tell me _why_ conditions _above_ the neck are treated any differently from conditions _below_ the neck?

"So our son has an interesting world-view? His last therapist, Dr. Zanders, said that it was his way of coping with our battles against RealmCorp!"

Diana started to say something, but Regina shrugged and said, "Hey, at least _your_ son doesn't think that you are the _Evil Queen _from the story of _Snow White_ . . . ."

And as the adults spoke inside, the boys were having a conversation of their own outside. Henry said to Kosar, "We don't have a lot of time now, but from the sound of it, we definitely need to compare notes. Meet me here tomorrow afternoon, when I get out of school . . . ."


	4. Hitching a Ride Home

**Chapter 4: Hitching a Ride Home**

Hank Grayson had been camping many times before and knew that if you were deep enough in a wooded area, it would be pitch-black at night. No matter the size of your campfire or how many lanterns or flashlights you had, you could barely see the nose on your face when the sun was down. Not even the light of a full moon (or in this case, "moons,") could penetrate the treetop canopy of a thick, old-growth forest.

But Hank and his friends did not have any lanterns or flashlights, and the small fire that they planned to make when darkness fell would be more for warmth than for light. The last thing that they wanted to do was build a fire large enough to attract the attention of Venger's orcs or, for that matter, the soldiers of the Evil Queen who ruled the Enchanted Forest.

The thought of waiting yet another day for the Queen to cast what Dungeon Master called "The Dark Curse," was gut-wrenchingly frustrating. Hank thought, _why doesn't this "Evil Queen" just unleash her "Dark Curse" on everyone and get it over with, already . . . ? _

"Alright," said Hank. "I think that we almost have enough wood to last the night, if need be. But we have to keep the fire small. We don't want our campfire to be spotted by the Evil Queen's men when we're this close to getting back home."

"The _Evil_ Queen," scoffed Eric. "I _still_ think this is a really bad idea, Hank. Tell me again how an _Evil_ Queen's _curse _is supposed to get us back home?"

"You were there, Eric," said Hank. "Dungeon Master told us that Queen Regina would be casting a spell that would move her entire kingdom to _our _world, and if we were anywhere within her Enchanted Forest, we could hitch a ride home."

"Aren't you overlooking something?" said Eric firmly but without any of his trademark sarcasm. "She's called the "Evil Queen;" not the "Good Queen." There must be a not-too-hard-to-guess reason for that! And she will be casting a _curse_; not a spell or a charm. Am I the _only _one here who thinks that this might not be a good idea based on those two facts alone?"

"Dungeon Master said that this curse will _not_ affect us the same way that it will affect her own people," said Hank. "The curse will make her people forget who they were, give them false memories, and even update their skillsets from a medieval level to a 20th century level."

"What kind of magic can do that?" said Eric. "How does a . . . a _woodcutter _become an _automobile mechanic_, for example?"

Presto said thoughtfully, "The same way that Venger could give Josef Mueller the ability to fly a futuristic jet fighter when all that he flew before were propeller planes from the 1940's."

"I suppose," said Eric. "But what do you think will happen to _our_ lives and _our _memories? Do you think the Evil Queen's curse will make us different people, too? Dungeon Master wasn't too clear on that point."

Sheila said, "Dungeon Master said that our weapons will protect us from losing our identities. He said that the worst that may happen is that we may forget our time in The Realm."

Bobby added, "Yeah, Eric. Dungeon Master said that we may even end up back where this whole thing started. We could come back home at the end of the Dungeons and Dragons ride back at the Loonyland Amusement Park as if nothing happened to us over the past three years."

"_That_ would be too good to be true," said Eric dryly.

"I-I don't want to forget," said Diana softly. "I mean, guys, this was _three years_ of our _lives_ that we are talking about! How could we just get back home and forget that all of this happened? That wouldn't be fair . . . ."

"Yeah, well . . . ," Eric started to quip that life was anything but "fair;" especially here in The Realm. But the last thing that he wanted to do was upset Diana; especially since she was actually being less snarky with him lately . . . .

"Well "what," Eric?" said Diana, jerking Eric out of his musings.

"Well, I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens, Diana," said Eric shrugging. Then, partly to change the subject, he said, "You know, I'd feel better if we had a bit more firewood, Hank. I'll just go out and get us some more."

Hank nodded and Eric started off when Diana said, "I'll come with you, Eric . . . ."

When the Cavalier and the Acrobat were out of earshot of the group's camp, Diana said, "Did you _really_ mean what you said about wanting to forget our past three years here in The Realm? I mean, sure, none of us _wanted _to come here and would not have come here if we had the _choice_. But there are _some_ things that I do _want_ to remember . . . ."

Eric understood. "Kosar. You want to remember Kosar, the Child of the Stargazer."

"Kosar _is _a big part of why I don't want to forget my time here," admitted Diana. "But _you_ are another reason."

"What do you mean, Diana? I thought that you only tolerated me because I'm friends with Hank and Presto."

"At first, maybe," admitted Diana. "But the past three years have had an effect on all of us. The experience changed us all, but it changed _you _more than any of the rest of us.

"When we first got on that roller coaster, you were a spoiled, lazy slacker who didn't care for anyone but himself. But over the past three years you've put all that behind you and actually became someone who we may all count on. Sure, you still complain a lot. But lately it is more to point out that we may be making the wrong choice – like the wisdom of using the _curse_ of an _Evil Queen_ to get back home – than to complain for the sake of complaining.

"Eric, I'd hate for us to lose our memories of the past three years and have you go back to being that spoiled, rich kid who doesn't care for anyone but himself; especially since I've seen what you are capable of being."

"Well, since you put it that way," said Eric. "Maybe remembering _some_ things about the past three years would not be such a bad thing after all . . . ."

Diana said, "And I'll go further. If we do remember our experiences when we get back home, whether we come back soon after we left or three years later, I'd like to spend more time with you. Go out with you . . . ."

Eric stopped dead in his tracks. "Are you asking me out for a _date_, Diana?"

"Only if we _remember_, Eric," said Diana. "But there is no way that I'm ever going out with the "old" Eric."

"Fair enough," said Eric.

The two teens looked each other in the eyes. For a moment, he thought that Diana was going to move in and kiss him. But then they heard shouting and the unmistakable sound of Hank's bow firing. Without saying another word, they ran back to the camp.

"GIVE ME YOUR WEAPONS!" commanded Venger from astride his nightmare as he fired blast after blast of magical destruction down on the Young Ones' campsite. "GIVE ME YOUR WEAPONS, AND I SHALL PERMIT YOU TO LEAVE UNHARMED! REFUSE, AND YOU SHALL NEITHER LEAVE THE REALM NOR LIVE!"

Hank continued to fire arrow of light after arrow of light at the Archmage, but said nothing in reply. What would be the point? Surely Venger would not change his mind just so they could ride the Evil Queen's curse home unaffected by its harmful elements. And even if they did not need their weapons for protection from the Dark Curse, there was no way that they would allow Venger to take possession of their weapons so he could have even more power to rule The Realm.

As Hank continued to fire, he caught sight of something coming at him from his left and dodged reflexively. Too late Hank realized that it was Shadow Demon making a diversion for his Master; a diversion that the Archmage took full advantage of. A burst of magic knocked the bow out of the Ranger's grip, followed swiftly by a spell that drew the Young Ones' weapons up to Venger.

"WHERE ARE THE OTHER TWO WEAPONS OF POWER?!" demanded Venger.

"Right here, Horn-Head!" exclaimed Diana as she tossed her javelin spinning at Venger, breaking the levitation spell and causing the Bow, the Cloak, the Hat and the Club to fall back to the ground where the others scrambled for them. As soon as Diana caught her returning javelin, the Cavalier raised his shield, surrounding everyone within its impenetrable barrier.

Venger let out a howl that was equal parts anger and frustration and began attacking the magical hemisphere emanating from the shield with blast after blast of dark magic in an attempt to collapse the Cavalier's defenses.

And from behind Venger, the Young Ones saw the approach of a rolling purple and green cloud illuminated from within by flashes of lightning.

"M-Master," stammered Shadow Demon. "MASTER! THE DARK CURSE! IT IS HERE! QUEEN REGINA'S CURSE IS HERE! WE MUST FLEE FROM IT NOW BEFORE IT TAKES US!"

"NOT WITHOUT MY WEAPONS OF POWER!"

"WHICH WILL BE WORTHLESS IF WE ARE TOUCHED BY THE CURSE AND FLUNG INTO THE LAND WITHOUT MAGIC . . . !"

Again, Venger roared with anger and frustration. "YOU WILL PAY DEARLY FOR YOUR FOOLISHNESS, REGINA!"

The purple and green smoke seemed to come from everywhere around Venger and the Young Ones and it was moving _fast_. In the distance, Venger saw an opening as the Dark Curse began to roll in to close it off, and spurred his nightmare toward it with Shadow Demon flying by his side.

Moments later, the Young Ones were surrounded by the purple and green haze, safe for the moment from the Dark Curse under Eric's shield.

Hank said, "Lower your shield, Eric."

"Are you nuts?!" said Eric.

"No," said Hank flatly. "This is what Dungeon Master said would get us home. We don't know how much longer this magic will last, so we have to act _now_. Lower the shield."

"So, this is it," said Presto. "We're actually going home."

"I still wish that Uni could come with us," said Bobby. He looked up to his sister. "Do you think that she will be happy in the Valley of the Unicorns . . . ?"

"Of course, Bobby," said Sheila, not wanting to think about what might happen to the little unicorn if she came back to Earth with them and ended up in a lab somewhere . . . .

"Drop the shield, Eric!" said Hank decisively. "NOW!"

Without another word, Eric lowered his shield, collapsing the magical barrier keeping the Dark Curse at bay. The purple and green smoke came down on them. The last thing that Eric felt in The Realm was Diana taking his hand . . . .

. . . . so Eric could help her exit the roller coaster car as it came to a stop. Hank did the same for Sheila, who in turn helped her little brother out. Oddly, Bobby did not complain, but silently took his sister's hand. Nobody commented on the ride, not even Bobby who was so excited when he first caught site of the newest ride at Loonyland. Even before the ride began, Sheila expected her little brother to want to go back around for a second ride.

Instead, the seven- year- old said, "Can we go somewhere to sit down for a bit? I . . . I feel kind of tired . . . ."

The older kids nodded in assent, and they found a table near some concession stands. The smells of fried foods surrounded them, tempted them, but they were not interested. Something weird happened to them on the ride but the words to describe what it was eluded them.

They were hungry, but did not want to eat.

They were thirsty, but did not want to drink.

They were tired, but did not want to take a nap.

They wanted to talk, but words eluded them.

Mostly, they just wanted to feel the way they felt before going on the Dungeons and Dragons ride.

They wanted to be by themselves, but said nothing when they were joined at their table by a short man with long hair and the overall look of an old hippie. The man wore a Loonyland nametag that said his name was "Gary," and he carried a small cardboard box with him. He joined them at the table, and proceeded to take out six round medallions sealed in their own individual plastic bags.

The man said, "Hey, kids. I saw you all get off the Dungeons and Dragons ride a moment ago. Since this is the first week this ride opened, Loonyland Amusement Park has been giving away commemorative medallions to riders while supplies last. And you kids are lucky to be the last six before we ran out."

They did not want any souvenirs of the ride, but they took them anyway, mainly to be polite. They looked at the cheap, plastic medallions that had been plated to look like gold. On one side was the inscription, "I survived the Dungeons and Dragons ride at Loonyland Amusement Park, Los Angeles, California, 1983 Season." The other sides had bas relief images of various characters from the game the ride was based on: The Ranger; The Cavalier; The Thief; The Magician; The Acrobat; and The Barbarian.

"Keep these, always," said the man who gave the medallions to them. "They will become valuable collector's items one day."

They did not want a conversation with the man afterwards. But they had one anyway. He told them that he did odd-jobs at the park to earn a little spending money, but that his life's work was social activism; fighting "The Power" on behalf of the Little Guy.

And the next thing they knew, they began volunteering with the man's Social Activist group, helping victims of a powerful corporate executive named Alessandro Talionis, CEO of the powerful multinational corporation, RealmCorp.

And they have been doing it ever since . . . .

Venger's nightmare was flying faster than sound, charging for the gap in the rolling purple and green cloud of the Dark Curse as Shadow Demon hung on to the nightmare's tail for dear life.

Venger no longer thought of the Weapons of Power, much less his hatred for Queen Regina and Rumpelstiltskin. There would be plenty of time to mull over these details later, after he escaped being touched by the Dark Curse. For now, his only thought was of the ever-narrowing gap in the curse that was his only chance for escape. It would be a close thing at best, and Venger commanded his faithful nightmare to coax even more speed from her magic.

Now the nightmare entered the closing gap, which to Venger's dismay was longer than he realized, and getting narrower and narrower as he rode. It was then that the Archmage realized that he was not going to get away from the curse in time. But even before he could fully absorb the thought, Venger found himself within the vile purple and green cloud . . . .

. . . . sitting in an expensive leather seat, held in place by a harness, gripping a steering wheel. The 12-cylender engine behind him roaring as he noted the speedometer approaching 160 mph as he sped down the empty highway. Instinctively (though unsure of how he had the instinct,) Alessandro Talionis, CEO of RealmCorp, moved his right hand to the gearshift, smoothly downshifting as he decelerated, pulling off the road and onto the shoulder. He unbuckled the harness as his personal secretary, Mr. Shad Damon, did likewise from the passenger's seat. The two men stepped to the front of the car; a custom Ferrari Testarossa cabriolet painted a mile-deep gloss black.

Mr. Talionis put his hand on the fender, patting it gently. He was not too far from his mansion in the San Fernando Valley, and it was logical that this should be his destination. After a few minutes of contemplation, he said, "Let us go home, Mr. Damon. From there, we shall make our plans to return to our true home."

Mr. Talionis and Mr. Damon re-entered the Ferrari and they pulled back onto the highway. "Yes, Mr. Damon. We shall return home to The Realm one day soon. But before we do, we shall make the Evil Queen and the Dark One pay . . . ."


	5. Breakfast at Granny's

**Chapter 5: Breakfast at Granny's**

After seeing Henry off to school, Mayor Regina Mills decided to have a late breakfast at Granny's Diner before her 10:00 am meeting with the Montgomerys at the Town Hall to discuss how they should counter RealmCorp's move to establish a presence in Storybrooke.

Regina still felt uncomfortable about what happened yesterday afternoon and the sight of Alessandro's black Ferrari Testarossa parked in front of Granny's did not do much to improve her mood. Regina parked her Mercedes next to the Ferrari and went inside, and immediately noticed that her usual seat at the counter was occupied. Scowling inwardly, she covered the distance between the door and the counter in record time to confront the occupant.

"Hello, Alessandro," said Regina evenly. "I believe that you are sitting in _my_ usual seat . . . ."

Before the CEO of RealmCorp could respond, the gray-haired woman behind the counter said, "I tried to tell this gentleman that he was sitting in your seat, Mayor Mills, but he would not listen . . . ."

"That's quite alright, Mrs. Lucas," said Regina. "Though if he were a _true_ gentleman, he would kindly move to the next stool over now that he knows that this seat is reserved."

Without saying a word, Alessandro Talionis rose from Regina's favorite stool and remained standing until Regina took her seat. As soon as she was comfortably in her favorite place to sit, Alessandro took the stool next to Regina. At the same time, a young waitress (who was wearing an outfit that would be more appropriate at a "Hooters" than at a small-town diner,) moved Alessandro's coffee cup and menu to his new seat. She then gave him a refill before setting a full cup before Regina and then moving on to wait on a short, bearded grumpy-looking man at the far end of the counter.

Alessandro took a sip of the hot, bitter beverage that he had actually acquired a taste for over the past 28 years. It was one of the few things that he actually _liked_ about this pathetic, insignificant world that did not exist in The Realm.

Moments later, the older woman behind the counter set a plate of hot pancakes in front of Regina, who then proceeded to cut them into bite-sized pieces.

"If you are undecided about what you would like to order for breakfast, Alessandro," said Regina without looking up. "May I recommend the apple pancakes? They are my favorite. But don't take my word for it; here, try some of mine . . . ." Regina offered Alessandro her fork with a piece of pancake to try.

"No thank you, Regina," said Alessandro dryly. "Only a fool would accept anything containing apples from you . . . ."

With a look of mock-hurt, Regina withdrew her fork, and ate the piece of pancake herself. "See? I'm still wide awake . . . ."

Alessandro did not reply. Instead, he ordered a steak-and-egg breakfast, sitting in silence until the young, skimpily-dressed waitress brought his order to him.

"I must admit, Alessandro," said Regina conversationally. "You are the last person that I expected to see in Storybrooke. I mean, it _has_ been almost 30 years since we got here."

"I would have come sooner, Regina," said Alessandro. He paused to chew a piece of steak and then continued. "However, Storybrooke is not an easy town to find. The concealment spells that you and the Dark One have woven are quite formidable."

"As a matter of curiosity, how _did_ you find Storybrooke?"

"I have my sources," replied Alessandro, mentally replaying the various interviews that he had had a few years ago with a troubled man now known as Greg Mendell.

"Fair enough," said Regina. "But now that you are here, Alessandro, I trust that you know that you will be unable to leave Storybrooke." It was a statement; not a question. "And that I expect you to know your place while you are here in _my_ town; even if the Dark Curse did make you one of the richest men in America, if not the entire world."

"That is a small consolation, Regina," said Alessandro. "Considering how your curse has deformed me and my loyal servants as well as trapping us here in this horrible world."

"_Deformed . . ._?" Regina smiled thinly. "I wouldn't say _that_, Alessandro. I happen to think that you look rather handsome now that you've got a nose and lost the fangs. And I'm sure that if Maleficent could see you now, she would approve wholeheartedly."

Alessandro looked up from his breakfast. "_Is _Maleficent here?"

"In a manner of speaking," said Regina. "She spends a lot of time at the library, or so I am given to understand. But surely you are happy that she is not still back in the Enchanted Realms, where Jafar would be able to pursue her affection without any competition from you."

"Jafar is a fool," said Alessandro flatly. "And Maleficent knows it."

"Well, _I'm_ certainly glad that he did not come over with us; all the more so now that I know that you are here," said Regina. "I'll never forget that Ball that that we all attended a while back; both of you vying for Maleficent's attention. You kept calling Jafar a "fool of a fool;" Jafar kept calling you an "infidel of an infidel." It was getting a little tedious, not to mention boring . . . ."

"And what of your own social life, Regina?" said Alessandro. "Is your Huntsman Royal still your Consort?"

"We're not together anymore, Alessandro," said Regina conversationally. "We broke-up. He's no longer with us."

"I can imagine . . . ," replied Alessandro.

"I don't play like Taylor Swift," said Regina with a bitter chuckle. "When someone crushes _my_ heart, I don't write a whiny song about it; I return the favor."

"No doubt," allowed Alessandro. He finished his breakfast and motioned the young waitress to bring him the check. When Ruby handed it to him, he immediately gave it back with a crisp, single bill.

Ruby blinked. Alessandro Talionis had given her a hundred dollar bill.

"Uh, sir, I don't think that we can change this. Do you have anything smaller?"

"There is no need for you to make change, young lady," said Alessandro. "The change is yours to keep."

Before Ruby could reply, her grandmother was at her side. She took the hundred dollar bill from Ruby and handed it back to Alessandro. "_This _breakfast is on the house, Mr. Talionis. The next time, please come visit us with _smaller _bills."

"It is my custom to reward exemplary service generously, Mrs. Lucas," said Alessandro. "And if you are concerned that I have any ulterior motives toward your granddaughter, you may set your fears aside. I prefer my female companionship to be of my own generation."

"Promises, promises," said Granny dryly as she gave the bill back to Ruby. "You might want to use this to buy yourself a _real _outfit. You know, one with a little more _fabric_ . . . ."

"You mean like a _burka_?" sassed Ruby. "Or do you think that even a burka would show too much skin? How about a _hazmat suit_?"

"Quit sassing me and get back to work," said Granny gruffly. Then to Alessandro, she said, "And if that was a pass you just made at _me_ Mr. Talionis, I'm not interested!"

Alessandro smiled. "The only offer that I wish to make you is a business proposition.

"Would you consider opening a _second _diner at the chemical processing plant that I intend to build here in Storybrooke? I estimate that it will increase your net profit fourfold of what it is now. That is, of course, if my proposal to the town is approved . . . .

"RealmCorp will make its presentation to the people of Storybrooke this Saturday Evening at the Town Hall. I realize that this is short notice, but would Granny's Diner be able to cater the event for, say, five thousand dollars?

Granny gasped and Ruby was at her side. "Are you alright, grandma?" She rounded to Alessandro. "My grandma has a heart condition . . . ."

"I-I'm alright, Ruby," said Granny, "in fact, I'm _better_ than alright! Mr. Talionis, you've got yourself a caterer!"

The grumpy, bearded man at the end of the counter said, "So, who are you? And what's this I hear about a chemical plant opening here in Storybrooke?"

"I am Alessandro Talionis, CEO of RealmCorp. And if I am allowed to open my plant here, it will provide many well-paying jobs for the good people of Storybrooke."

A man wearing mechanic's coveralls came up to the small group that was forming at the counter around Alessandro. "What kind of jobs are you offering?"

Alessandro offered the newcomer his hand, asking him his name and profession.

"My name is Michael Tillman. I'm an auto mechanic, and I run the Marine Garage. But I should tell you that I do not have any experience working on high-performance imports like your Ferrari out there . . . ."

"My . . . Ferrari is surprisingly reliable," said Alessandro. "But I will need the services of a good mechanic to maintain my factory's motor pool. I'm certain that we shall be able to reach an accord that will be fair as well as extremely profitable for your business."

"I would like that very much," said Mr. Tillman. "I'm a single father of twelve-year-old twins, and believe me, every little bit helps."

Alessandro said, "Then please be sure to come to my presentation this Saturday Evening at the Town Hall. And do bring your Young Ones - I _mean_ your _children_. Bring your children. They will be welcome as well."

"I'll do that," said Mr. Tillman.

To Regina's dismay, other patrons at Granny's Diner were coming over to Alessandro Talionis, who was handling the crowd with the experience of a politician native to Earth, as opposed to a Warlord-Mage of The Realm. Inwardly, Regina scowled as she watched Alessandro converse with Marco in flawless Italian.

When enough people had gathered, Alessandro dropped the bomb. "At this time, the only obstacle in my way is your good Mayor, Regina Mills. Perhaps Her Honor the Mayor would care to tell her constituents why she opposed my plan to bring jobs and prosperity into Storybrooke?"

This caught Regina unprepared. She was not used to being challenged so directly. Except for the odd clink of utensil on plate, the diner was silent as everyone there listened for her reply. But Regina knew that she could not say anything to defend her decision that would not spark a debate right here and now; a debate that she was not prepared for.

_If the people of Storybrooke could remember their old lives, _Regina thought,_ they would know that Venger was not to be trusted. But then, of course, they would also remember that I am the one responsible for the Dark Curse in the first place. And they would trust me no better . . . ._

So Regina did the best that she could do under the circumstances. She stated authoritatively that she would give her reasons at the debate this coming Saturday night, paid her check (leaving her usual tip for Ruby,) then went straight to her car and drove to the Town Hall to meet with the Montgomerys.

As soon as Regina arrived at the Town Hall, she parked her Mercedes and let out a scream of pure rage. It felt good to get it out, but there was still much to be done. She composed herself, straightened herself out, and went briskly inside, hoping that when Eric and Diana arrived, they would be able to help her convince the town to oppose Alessandro's plans.

And knowing Alessandro Talionis / Venger, Regina knew that she needed all the help that she could get . . . .


	6. Comparing Notes

**Chapter 6: Comparing Notes**

As it turned out, Henry did not have to wait until school let out to meet with Kosar. Shortly after he took his seat in Miss Blanchard's classroom, Henry saw Kosar come in wearing a Storybrooke Elementary school uniform. Kosar noticed Henry as well, and quickly moved to take the empty seat next to Henry just as the bell rang for classes to begin.

"Good morning, class," said their teacher, Mary Margaret Blanchard, who Henry knew was actually Snow White. The class responded in unison with a "good morning" of their own, and Miss Blanchard motioned for Kosar to come to the front of the room. Placing a hand on his shoulder, Miss Blanchard said, "We have a new member of our class. His name is Kosar Montgomery, and he is from Los Angeles, California."

The other students said "Hello" in a variety of ways, and Kosar took his chair next to Henry. Math was the first subject, and the room got quiet as the students began to concentrate on the problems they had been given.

Both boys made a few attempts at communication, but under the watchful eyes of their teacher, the only message that Henry was able to send was by writing on his scratch paper that they would talk at first recess at 10:00 am. After what seemed like an eternity, recess finally arrived, and both boys went to an out of the way corner of the Storybrooke Elementary playground.

"What happened, Kosar?" said Henry, releasing all the tension that had been building up inside him since Kosar first came into the classroom. "Your parents said that you would be leaving at the end of the month!"

"Change in plans, Henry," said Kosar. "We decided to stay in Storybrooke for a while; maybe even move here permanently. At the very least, your mom wants us to stay and help her deal with Mr. Talionis' "offer" to the town."

Henry shook his head. "Let's get one thing straight, Kosar. Mayor Regina Mills is _not_ my mother. My _real _mom is Sheriff Emma Swan."

Kosar wanted to ask for an explanation, but decided not to. There were more important matters to discuss; he could find out what Henry meant as they went along. "Henry, we _both_ know that something is _wrong _with this town and we have a lot to talk about, but not much time to talk and I don't mean because the recess bell will be ringing soon."

"I'm really glad that you are staying, Kosar . . . ."

Kosar shook his head. "We don't have any time for small-talk, Henry. Too much is at stake here, and believe me, the stakes are pretty high. We've got to be straight with each other from the start. I know that you have discovered that Storybook . . . _brooke_ \- Story_brooke - _ is populated by people from _Fairytales_ who have been cursed to live in our world with artificially implanted memories."

Henry blinked at Kosar's directness. "H-how did you . . . ?"

"I overheard my mom talking with your mom – _Mayor Mills_. _Whoever _– just as long as we _both_ know who we mean. I heard them talking on the phone last night. The Mayor gave my mom the phone number for a Dr. Archie Hopper . . . ."

"Yeah," said Henry. "I'm a patient of his, too. By the way, He's really _Jiminy Cricket_ from "Pinocchio;" before the Dark Curse remade him in human form."

Kosar nodded. "Thanks for the heads-up, Henry. I have my first session with Dr. Hopper today as soon as school gets out so we _wouldn't_ have been able to get together after school like we originally planned. It seems that our "issues" are . . . similar."

"Are _your_ mom and dad from Fairytales as well?" said Henry.

"No," replied Kosar. "My mom and dad and their friends from school _and_ Alessandro Talionis are all characters from a 1980's Saturday Morning Cartoon called "Dungeons and Dragons." Before Henry could comment, Kosar added, "Now, I know that what I just said must seem like a fantastic _claim_, Henry . . . ." Just then, the bell rang for everyone to return to their classrooms. As they headed back in, Kosar continued. "But it just so happens that I do have some fantastic _proof_ to show you. We'll talk more about it at lunch."

From the end of morning recess period to the start of lunchtime, both boys were antsy and could barely concentrate on Miss Blanchard's lessons. But as soon as class was dismissed for lunch, the boys quickly ate and then went outside to compare notes.

They went to a corner of the playground, away from the other kids for privacy. Henry handed Kosar the book that he had been carrying with him titled "Once Upon A Time." "Miss Blanchard gave this to me a few weeks ago. This book is what made me first notice that something was wrong about this town."

Kosar gave the book a quick look and then said, "In my case everything started when I tried to find out about my . . . unusual name.

"Before you met me, have you _ever_ heard of anyone else named "Kosar?" As a first name, I mean?" Henry had to admit that he had not, and Kosar continued. "So I asked my mom and dad why they gave me such a _weird_ name . . . ."

"What did they tell you?" said Henry.

"Not much, at first. They told me that they would let me know more when I got older. But "older" never seemed to come around. Eventually, mom and dad told me that I was named for a very close friend of my mom who was killed – murdered, actually, when he was a few years older than we are now.

"I tried to get them to tell me more, but my mom would start crying, and dad would just repeat that they would "tell me when I got older." So when I couldn't get more from them, I did what any normal kid in my position would do. I "Googled" my name . . . ."

"Weren't you worried that your parents would find out?" said Henry.

"Of course," said Kosar offhandedly with a shrug. "That's why I had to remember to keep deleting my browser history and inbox as I went along."

Henry nodded respectfully. "I did the same thing when I was looking for my _real_ mom so The _Evil Queen_ wouldn't find out. _That's_ who Mayor Regina Mills _really_ is; the Evil Queen."

Kosar nodded. That explained a lot. Then Kosar continued, "At first, the only match I could find was with some old football player. But "Kosar" was his _last_ name and he hadn't been murdered. So I expanded my search parameters, and I kept getting references to _this_ . . . ."

Kosar handed Henry a DVD set titled "Dungeons &amp; Dragons: The Animated Series." The cover depicted a group of six kids from grade-school age to their mid-teens. They were dressed in pseudo-medieval-style clothing and were armed with a variety of glowing, enchanted weapons. Behind them to their left was a fearsome, five headed dragon. But standing behind them to their right was an even more ominous figure: an obviously evil warlock resplendent in black, red and grey robes, posed as though about to cast a curse on the young people on the cover. But what really caught Henry's attention was the warlock's headdress, which was decorated with a single horn mounted on its left side. Something about that headdress was vaguely familiar, but Henry couldn't quite remember where he had seen anything like it before . . . .

"See the girl standing to the left side of the cover?" said Kosar. "And the boy on the far right; the one holding the shield?

"In the cartoon, their names are Diana and Eric; my mom and dad." Kosar pointed to the other kids on the cover. "The boy in the green robes is my Uncle Russ, but everyone calls him "Presto," just like in the cartoon. The boy holding the glowing bow is my Godfather, Hank. I told you about him before. The other two kids are my Godmother Sheila and my Uncle Rob; her younger brother. But he is called "Bobby" in the cartoon."

"Wait a minute," said Henry. "_Everyone's_ names are the _same _in real life as they are in the cartoon?"

"And that is not all," said Kosar. "There are _other _details in the cartoon that match our real life; far too many to be explained away as simple coincidence . . . .

"My dad's parents completely ignored him - the same as the Eric in the cartoon. In fact, I've only seen them once or twice in my entire life. And Grandpa - my mom's dad, is an astronomer; also just like in the cartoon. We actually find that detail out in the episode where my name is mentioned.

"It's the last episode in the second season, "Child of the Stargazer," where the person I was named for is shown. I even tried an age-progression program on my computer with my most recent class picture. I'll actually look a lot like the drawing of the man in the cartoon when I'm eighteen." Kosar rolled his eyes. "Assuming that I grow two more feet and loose about ten pounds between now and then, that is . . . ."

"For what it is worth, you don't look too fat, or anything like that," said Henry.

"Tell that to my _mom_," said Kosar. "Mom is always getting mad at my dad for taking me to get ice cream or pizza after school. I think she wants me to be more athletic, myself. She won a Gold Medal in the Olympics when she was only a few years older than we are now. Incidentally, they don't mention that in the cartoon, but it is a detail listed in the Bonus Features section that mom – Diana - is an Olympic-Level Gymnast."

Henry looked at the DVD case that Kosar gave him. "I'll watch as much of this tonight as I can."

"You _need_ to, Henry," said Kosar. "You've _got_ to see what we are up against. Everything that is shown in this DVD is _true. _It all _actually happened_."

Henry felt a chill when Kosar said that, then took the DVD and said, "I'll let you take my book home with you tonight to go over. We can compare notes tomorrow after school."

"You'll want this, too," said Kosar. He handed Henry a folder marked "Mongoose Project."

Kosar continued. "This is other information I discovered about the "Dungeons and Dragons Cartoon" online. I keep it in this old Science-Fair folder to keep my parents from finding it."

Henry blinked at the title. "I call _my_ own project to identify everyone in town with their Fairytale counterparts "Operation Cobra" for the same reason! I wonder if this is a sign of some kind?"

Kosar shook his head. "I hope this isn't a _bad_ sign. Cobras and mongooses are bitter enemies, you know."

But before either of them could say another word, the bell rang and lunch was over.

As they headed back inside, Henry thought that even if cobras and mongooses are enemies, he finally found a real friend.

When school had finally let out, Henry and Kosar paused for a moment to go to the boys' bathroom. They wanted to compare notes one more time before going outside where Kosar's mom and the Evil Queen would be waiting to pick them up.

Kosar pulled something wrapped in paper from his backpack and handed it to Henry. "I want you to hold onto this for me, Henry. I'm worried that if I keep it with me it might get stolen. My aunt's and uncles' can't find theirs. They say they lost them, but I think they were really stolen, and I'm pretty certain that Talionis did it."

Henry un-wrapped the paper and saw a cheap-looking plastic medallion with a bas relief of a knight holding a shield. Henry immediately recognized from the cover of the DVD that Kosar gave him at lunch as The Cavalier – Kosar's dad. And Henry couldn't help thinking that he had seen something like it somewhere before here in Storybrooke . . . .

"Keep it with you, Henry," said Kosar. "Or hide it somewhere safe. Whatever else, we can't let Talionis – Venger - get his hands on it. I think he needs it because I believe that the medallions are _really _the Weapons of Power that Dungeon Master gave mom and dad and their friends when they first got to The Realm, and Venger is _still_ after them. You'll see what I mean when you watch the DVD."

Henry nodded. "I'll keep it safe. We'll compare notes tomorrow after school."

"I don't think that we should talk about this at your place or mine," said Kosar. "We might be overheard. Where should we go?"

Henry smiled broadly. "I've got just the place. Tell your mom and dad that I'm going to show you around Storybrooke tomorrow when school is out. We'll be able to talk at my Castle!"

"You have a _castle_?" said Kosar. "This I _gotta_ see . . . ."


	7. A Gathering of Forces

**Chapter 7: A Gathering of Forces**

The next day after school, Henry took Kosar to his "Castle." To any adult, it was a dilapidated piece of wooden playground equipment on the verge of collapse. To a couple of 10 year old boys, however, it was (short of an actual tree house,) a great place to hang out. After getting comfortable, the boys set out the items in their book bags that they would need for their discussion. Henry even brought refreshments in the form of two Apollo Bars. Kosar took a big bite of his, nodding to Henry to begin.

Henry held up the DVD and the "Mongoose Project" notebook that Kosar had given him the night before. "I was up _all night_ going over this even though the Evil Queen almost caught me – twice!

"This is absolutely _incredible_, Kosar! Your mom and dad and their friends from school _and_ Mr. Talionis are _all_ here! I even saw the episode you told me about where the kid you were named for was killed by Queen Syrith! You know, it wouldn't even surprise me if the Evil Queen was friends with her back in the Enchanted Forest . . . !"

Kosar opened Henry's book, "Once Upon A Time," to one of the many pages that he bookmarked to show Henry. "I've gone over what you gave me to look at, too. You're right; Miss Blanchard sure looks like the Snow White in this book."

"My book _is_ pretty amazing," said Henry. "But it's _nothing _compared to your DVD!"

The boys began discussing the episodes of the "Dungeons and Dragons Cartoon" that Henry saw the night before. Periodically, Henry referred to his "Once Upon A Time" book to show Kosar the people that he had been able to identify from the Fairytales who had counterparts in town.

Henry thought that the book Miss Blanchard gave him was incredible. But Kosar's DVD absolutely blew Henry away! Nothing was merely suggested as it was in Henry's book; it was practically there in your face! For a moment, Henry actually felt jealous. "I sure wish that I had proof like your DVD, Kosar! If I did, I could . . . could . . . ."

"Could _what_, Henry?" said Kosar with a shrug as he finished off his Apollo Bar. "I _have_ proof 'like this.' But ever since I discovered it, you are the _only_ other person who I could convince to watch _any _of it.

"My mom thinks that cartoons, especially those shown on Saturday Mornings, are a complete waste of time and won't watch it with me. And my dad, who is _always_ in the mood for any kind of father/son time, won't watch it with me, either.

"I came closest with my Uncle Presto. But he dismissed the similarities between us and the cartoon as pure coincidence, like the "Lincoln / Kennedy Assassination" similarities. Then he told me that I should just drop it because it upsets my mom and dad.

"I couldn't even convince Dr. Hopper to watch it. He just stuck the copy I gave him in my file. You'd think that he of all people would _want_ to watch it, just to learn about my "world view," or whatever he's calling it." Kosar sighed. "I wonder if that is part of your mom's Curse; making people not want to look at proof like the stuff we have?"

"She's not my mom, Kosar!" said Henry. "Sheriff _Emma Swan_ is my real mom! But I think you may be right. The Dark Curse seems to put _everyone_ in a state of denial. That's what makes it so difficult to identify everyone's Fairytale Counterparts."

"You know, Henry," said Kosar. "I wonder how much of what we think is fiction is actually real?" Kosar thought about those two blonde kids that he saw on the playground at recess that morning; the brother and sister who called each other "Bart" and "Lisa." He made a mental note to ask Henry later if he knew their last name . . . .

"I don't know," Henry said. "But for now, we've gotta figure out why Venger is _really_ here in Storybrooke."

"I'll tell you one thing, Henry," said Kosar. "Venger isn't here to open up a chemical factory. He's got something else in mind, and it isn't going to be -" Kosar was cut off by his cellphone ringing. He answered it, and spoke with his mom for a few moments before hanging up. From what Henry could make of the conversation, it did not sound good.

"We'll have to continue this later, Henry," said Kosar. "I gotta get back to Granny's Bed and Breakfast. While we were at school and my parents were talking with your - I mean, the Mayor at the Town Hall, our rooms got _burglarized_! Your _biological _mom is there right now, taking my mom's and dad's statements."

"C'mon, Kosar," said Henry. "Follow me. I know a short-cut to Granny's from here."

The boys quickly packed up their things and took off running. When they got to Granny's bed and breakfast, they saw Sheriff Emma Swan, speaking with Kosar's parents, Mayor Regina Mills and Mrs. Lucas, the owner of the Bed and Breakfast who everyone in Storybrooke called Granny.

"Now are you absolutely certain that _nothing_ is missing?" said Emma to Kosar's parents as Henry and Kosar ran up to them.

"Not that we can tell," said Eric. "Our three desktop computers and our son's laptop and X-Box are still here. So is our telescope. Other than that, we really don't have _anything_ of value worth stealing."

"Our two rooms were _completely_ tossed," said Diana. "It looks like whoever did this was looking for something or trying to intimidate us."

"Or both," added Eric. "This has RealmCorp written all over it!"

"What makes you think that, Mr. Montgomery?" said Sheriff Swan. "That's a very serious accusation. Could there be any other motive that you can think of? Anyone else who may want to hurt your family for any reason?"

Diana admitted, "We've had some rare . . . _experiences_ in the past with people who wanted to intimidate us before that had nothing to do with RealmCorp . . . ."

"But the lack of offensive graffiti pretty much leaves RealmCorp Operatives by process of elimination," added Eric dryly. Diana nodded solemnly and put her hand on her husband's shoulder.

"_We _don't have _that_ kind of problem here in Storybrooke, Eric!" said Regina. "Of course, we aren't exactly _perfect _in every detail. Storybrooke _does_ have its share of local punks."

"Local punks I can believe," said Eric nodding. "Local punks that were _hired_ by Talionis to find out what our plans are for this Saturday Night's presentation. I mean, _nothing_ was taken!"

"Maybe they got interrupted before they could carry anything away?" said Mrs. Lucas, who had been the one to call Sheriff Swan when she heard some noises from the Montgomery's room.

"Maybe . . . ," said Eric. "Or maybe they had something _else _in mind . . . .

"You know, Diana, I think that Presto should check out our rooms for bugs and scan our computers _thoroughly_ as soon as he gets here, just to make sure that _whoever_ did this didn't upload any malware . . . ."

Kosar brightened. "Is Uncle Presto coming here?"

"Yes," said Diana smiling. "And so are your Aunt Sheila and Uncles Hank and Bob."

"We called them last night and let them know what we are up against," said Eric. "They should be here any time, now."

"We _wanted_ it to be a surprise," said Diana. "They'll be staying here with us here at Granny's."

"Don't worry, Mrs. Montgomery," said Ms. Lucas. "Their rooms are ready and waiting for them when they get here."

"Is that them, now?" said Regina as two cars pulled up in front of the Bed and Breakfast. One was a ten year old Honda Accord with a man and a woman inside and the other was a brand new Dodge Charger with two men.

Kosar waved as the cars pulled up and stopped. Henry smiled and waved, too. After watching Kosar's DVD the night before, Henry needed no introductions, but waited with barely controlled excitement as he met Kosar's Godparents, Hank (The Ranger) and Sheila (The Thief) Grayson and his uncles Russell (The Magician) Sydney and Robert "Bob" (The Barbarian) O'Brien.

"Kosar's told me all about you," said Henry. "Man, am I glad that you are here to help us stop Alessandro Talionis and RealmCorp from messing with Storybrooke!"

"We're sorry it took us so long to get here," said Hank. "We had a problem with our GPS once we passed the sign that said "Welcome to Storybrooke."

"Yeah," said Bob. "Our GPS went out too. Probably a problem with the satellite network, or something."

"Uh, yeah," said Henry _sotto voce_ to Kosar. "Let's go with _that_ . . . ."

Once the introductions had been completed and Sheriff Swan left to complete her report, Presto made a quick scan of the Montgomery's computers. He found nothing, but set up an antiviral program to run just to be safe. He then used a scanner to sweep their rooms at Granny's for bugs and found none.

When Presto had finished, Regina suggested that everyone follow her and Henry back to the mayor's mansion for some of her famous lasagna, so they could eat and coordinate their efforts to oppose RealmCorp at the presentation a few days from now.

Kosar had to admit that for an Evil Queen, Mayor Mills made some _very_ delicious lasagna. Everyone was having a good time, so much so that Kosar's mom just sighed and said, "I guess, if you _must_ . . . ," when Kosar asked for and got a (small) second helping. She even let him have a (small) slice of apple pie for dessert with everyone else. But the best part of all was getting to hang out with Henry.

For once, Kosar felt like a normal kid; a feeling that was reinforced when both of their moms gave their approval for the boys to have a sleepover on Friday night at Kosar's place; provided, of course, that the main reason for the boys' all-nighter was to better help Henry understand the threat that RealmCorp presented to Storybrooke.

"Just be sure to bring Henry up to speed on the issues that will be brought up at the Town Hall meeting this Saturday night," said Eric. "The two of you will be responsible for answering questions that the attendees under 18 will undoubtedly have. You will have plenty of time for overnight movie marathons _after_ RealmCorp has been defeated and Storybrooke is safe."

"Don't worry, dad," said Kosar. "By the time we are through, Henry will know as much about RealmCorp and Mr. Talionis as I do!" _Not exactly a lie,_ thought Kosar. _I'll be thoroughly briefing Henry on the threat to Storybrooke; just not the threat that you and mom have in mind . . . . _

Eventually, the subject segued into the Montgomerys plan to actually _move_ to Storybrooke, and were surprised to hear that Hank and Sheila were considering the same move, themselves.

"You have such a picturesque town, Madame Mayor," said Sheila. "Hank and I just fell in love with your town the moment we saw it."

"Then let me be the first to welcome you to Storybrooke," said Regina smiling as she raised her cup of coffee in a toast.

"Well, I hate to upstage you, sis," said Bob. "But I'll see your decision to move to Storybrooke and raise you a wedding! I just texted Terri and sent her some pictures of Storybrooke about an hour ago. She said "yes," to both of my proposals."

As the other adults offered their congratulations, Henry whispered to Kosar, "He means Terri from "The Girl Who Dreamed Tomorrow," doesn't he?" Kosar replied with a barely perceptible nod.

Bob continued, "We'd like to get married the moment RealmCorp is sent packing. We're thinking of having our wedding near the shoreline, so we can have a classic Maine lobster bake for the dinner. If you'll all pardon the pun, we're going to have a real "Story_brooke_" wedding!"

Bob's comment was followed by a round of good-natured groans from everyone present. Even Kosar had to admit that it would have been funny if the situation everyone was blindly walking into was not so serious.

"You know, guys," said Diana mischievously. "We'll need to find a date for Presto for the wedding . . . ."

Presto turned red. "Oh, no you _don't_ . . . !"

"Oh, c'mon, Presto!" said Eric. "Yesterday, Diana and I had some ice cream at this shop called, "Any Given Sundae." You and the young woman who works there would make a good couple."

"I think you'll like her, Presto," said Diana, her grin becoming even more mischievous. "Her name is Sarah Fisher. And take my word for it, when The Commodores wrote "Brick House," they must have had _her_ in mind!" Everyone looked at Diana wide-eyed at her comment. Everyone except Kosar and Henry, who just looked puzzled.

"Thanks, but I think that I can get my own dates, guys," protested Presto.

"C'mon, Uncle Presto," said Kosar. "Mom and dad are only trying to help."

Presto turned to his nephew and said, "Thanks for your concern, Kosar, but what I am _trying _to say is that I _already_ have someone in mind to ask.

"I was talking with Regina in the kitchen when I was helping her put everything in the dishwasher. We're having dinner at Granny's Diner tomorrow night. Now, it's mainly to go over the plans for our upcoming presentation. Regina and I are just friends for now, but . . . ."

Their attention focused on Presto and Regina, none of the other adults noticed the look of near-panic on Henry's and Kosar's faces; even when the boys asked to be excused from the table and made a beeline to Henry's room.

When they got there and closed the door, Henry said, "Oh, no! How could _this _happen?!"

But Kosar managed to compose himself quickly, and said, "Listen, Henry, this is bad, but it is the _least _of our concerns, right now. I'm _positive _that our rooms at Granny's got raided by Talionis' hired thugs this afternoon because he was trying to find my dad's medallion. Do you still have it, Henry?"

Henry took the medallion out of his bottom dresser drawer, where he had it wrapped in a sock. Kosar breathed a sigh of relief.

"Keep it safe for me, Henry," said Kosar. "We can't let Talionis get it! If I'm right, he already _has_ the other five! And I don't think that he will rest until he gets my dad's!"

"You know, Kosar," said Henry thoughtfully. Suddenly he remembered where he had seen a _similar _medallion. "There may be _another_ medallion like it here in Storybrooke."

"Where?" said Kosar, eyes wide.

"The Antique store in town," said Henry. "It's run by a man named Mr. Gold. We'll go there after school, tomorrow. If nothing else, Mr. Gold may be able to tell us more about your dad's medallion."

Time flew as the boys talked more about Henry's book and Kosar's DVD, but the development at dinner was still a concern, and the boys vowed to work on that as soon as they thwarted RealmCorp's plans for Storybrooke.

"I'm still worried about Presto if the Evil Queen gets her claws into him," said Henry.

"Me too," admitted Kosar. "But we can only deal with one major emergency at a time. Let's worry about the RealmCorp presentation this Saturday, first. Then we can deal with keeping Harry Potter from asking Pansy Parkinson to the Yule Ball, later."

Before Henry could reply, the boys were interrupted by a knock on Henry's door. Regina and Diana were there, telling the boys that it was time for Kosar to go back home. The boys said goodbye, hoping that tomorrow afternoon would not be too late. But what they did not know was that Kosar's mom and Mayor Mills had been listening outside Henry's door for a few minutes before she knocked . . . .

Later that night when Henry and Kosar were asleep, Regina's phone rang. "Hello Diana. Oh, there is no need to apologize for Kosar's "Harry Potter" remark . . . . Yes, I was thinking the same thing . . . . It is too bad, though. They really seem to like each other . . . . Neither has Henry. Kosar is the first person his age that he has befriended in a very long time . . . . I'll call Dr. Hopper and see if we can all meet tomorrow after school lets out . . . ."


	8. Mr Gold

**Chapter 8**

When school let out, Henry took Kosar to a small shop called Mr. Gold Pawnbroker &amp; Antiquities Dealer. When they got to the door, they were met by a man with shoulder-length hair, who was dressed in an expensive suite and carried a cane. "Hello Henry. You know I don't like to have children in my shop without their parents present. It was a statement, not a question.

"Mr. Gold, this is my friend from school," said Henry. "His name is Kosar Montgomery and he has something that he wants you to look at for him."

"Well – Kosar, is it?" said Mr. Gold, raising an eyebrow. "If you come back here later with your mum and dad . . . ." The wealthiest man in Storybrooke lost his train of thought when Henry held up Kosar's medallion for him to see. Mr. Gold said, "Very well, you may come in. Please follow me to the counter. But I must caution you both not to touch anything in my shop."

Both boys nodded emphatically and moments later, they were at Mr. Gold's counter, where the Pawnbroker/Antiques Dealer carefully examined Kosar's medallion under a lighted magnifier. After doing this, he handed the medallion back to Kosar and motioned the boys over to his desktop computer where he began an internet search.

"It isn't normal to see a piece of Loonyland Amusement Park Memorabilia here on the Eastern Seaboard," said Mr. Gold. "Not as common as souvenirs from Coney Island or Disneyland in this neck of the woods. Do you know the story behind your medallion, Kosar?"

"A little, Mr. Gold," said Kosar cautiously. "That medallion belonged to my dad. He said that he got it at Loonyland, but I looked online and could not find any souvenirs like this for sale in any of the Loonyland Gift Shops."

"That's because they were _not_ for sale in any of the gift shops at Loonyland," said Mr. Gold. "This medallion, and eight other kinds like it, was _given_ as a premium to the first 2,400 people who rode the then-new Dungeons and Dragons-Themed Ride that first opened to the public in September of 1983.

"There were eight different kinds in all," said Mr. Gold. "And only a limited number of each kind was made. The one your father has is "The Cavalier." But there was also a medallion depicting a Ranger; a Thief; a Magician; a Barbarian and an Acrobat."

"My mom had the Acrobat medallion," said Kosar nodding. "But she does not have it anymore. She told me that she lost it a few years back when I was little while working out at the gym."

"That's a pity," said Mr. Gold. "As I said, these medallions are quite rare collector's items these days. Given the condition of the Cavalier medallion that you have, I'd say it is worth anywhere from $75.00 to $150.00. And if you still had it in the sealed plastic wrapper it came in, you could get around $200.00 to $350.00 for it from a serious collector . . . .

"Now, as I said before, it is my policy to not do business with children, Kosar. But if you decide to sell it, come in with your mum or dad and I'll give you a fair price for it, though I will tell you that you could probably make more if you decide to sell it yourself online."

"No thank you, Mr. Gold," said Kosar. "My _dad_ gave this to me. I want to keep it."

"Did he, now?" said Mr. Gold nodding. "I take it that you have a good relationship with your father." Another question presented as a statement.

"Yeah, I guess," said Kosar rolling his eyes. "I just wish that he would not hover around me so much; I _am_ almost 11."

"Well, Kosar," said Mr. Gold softly. "When I was your age, I would have loved a little of what you might call "hovering" from my own father. Let's just say that my father's idea of "hovering" was something quite different, indeed . . . ."

"Uh, Mr. Gold?" said Henry. "You said there were _eight _types of medallions given away at Loonyland in the 1980's? But you only mentioned six."

"Did I?" Mr. Gold ticked off each type of medallion on his fingers. "The Ranger; The Thief; The Magician; The Barbarian; The Cavalier and the Acrobat . . . . So I did, Henry. The other two were the Dungeon Master and the Archmage. In fact . . . ."

Mr. Gold motioned the boys over to one of his display cases, pointing out a medallion similar to Kosar's, still in the plastic wrapper that Mr. Gold told them about. The medallion depicted a fearsome warlock astride a nightmare and accompanied by a floating, ghost-like being. Henry and Kosar looked at each other, but neither of them spoke. They did not have to speak. Both boys knew that the warlock depicted on the medallion was none other than Venger, the Force of Evil, AKA Alessandro Talionis, CEO of RealmCorp.

"I acquired that particular piece in late October 1983," said Mr. Gold. "Of course, it was not worth much at the time. But if it is one thing that I know it is antiques and the collector mentality. So I kept it as an investment; an investment that could potentially pay off one day."

"How much is it worth, Mr. Gold?" said Henry.

The Pawnbroker smiled. "Have either of you boys ever heard the old expression, "If you have to ask the price, you cannot afford the item in question . . . ?"

"Now, if you boys will excuse me, I am expecting a visit with a potential customer in a few moments, and I must ask you both to leave before he arrives. But remember, Kosar, come back with your parents if you ever decide to sell your medallion and I'll give you a fair price."

Henry and Kosar thanked Mr. Gold and left his shop. From there, the boys went straight to Granny's Diner. They picked a booth where they could discuss "Operation Cobra/Mongoose."

"I need to use the "facilities," said Kosar. "If the waitress comes over before I get back, just tell her that I'll have whatever you're having."

When Kosar came back, Henry said, "I got us both a slice of apple pie and a cup of hot cocoa with whipped cream and cinnamon. We'll need our strength to plan how to defeat whatever the Evil Queen and Venger have planned . . . ."

Henry stopped speaking as the waitress came over with their order. She set a slice of apple pie and a cup of hot cocoa with whipped cream sprinkled with cinnamon in front of Henry just as he had requested, but gave Kosar a plate of sliced apples with a yogurt dipping sauce, and a glass of plain, skim milk.

"Uh, Ruby, I asked for _two_ slices of pie and _two_ cups of cocoa; one for me, and one for my friend."

Ruby shrugged apologetically. "Your friend's mom came in here a few days ago and asked Grandma to only let him order "healthy snacks" if he ever came in here after school. She even gave us a list of "approved foods" _and _serving sizes." Then Ruby shrugged, smiled at Kosar, winked and said, "Sorry, handsome," before she went to wait on another table. Both boys watched her as she walked away.

Kosar rolled his eyes, and said, "I wonder if Rihanna knows that her closet is getting raided by Little Red Riding Hood?"

Henry smiled and shrugged. "I've been wondering about that myself, lately."

Kosar smiled too and said, "_This_ must be what it's like to be a couple of _normal_ Fifth Graders, Henry. Having a snack after school and talking smack about grownups behind their backs."

"We _are_ normal Fifth Graders, Kosar," said Henry.

Kosar shook his head with resignation. "Says the boy whose parents are _Fairy Tales_ to the boy whose parents are _Saturday Morning Cartoon_ characters . . . ."

Henry sighed and nodded. "Well, I guess we'd better get to work . . . .

"You know, Kosar, I think I figured out why Venger came to Storybrooke. Because of the Evil Queen's curse, he is _trapped_ in our world the way your mom and dad were trapped in _his _world. The whole cartoon series was about how your mom and dad and their friends were trying to get back home to Earth, right?

"Well, I think that that's what Venger wants, too. I think that maybe all he wants is to go back to his home in the Realm of Dungeons and Dragons. And if he needs your dad's medallion to do this, maybe we should just give it to him so he _can_ go home and leave us alone."

Kosar took a bite of apple and chewed slowly, then shook his head and said, "I agree that Venger wants to go home, Henry. But what worries me is _how_ he is going to do this, and _what_ is going to happen to everyone else here in Storybrooke _when_ he does it."

"What do you mean?" said Henry.

"Well, from what you told me, this Dark Curse is _extremely_ powerful magic," said Kosar. "I mean, your . . . _The Evil Queen's_ curse _transplanted _an entire civilization from her world to ours. And not only that, but seamlessly blended it into our world. Official records, interstate commerce, power grid, internet, _everything_!

"It also suppressed everyone's memories of their old life in the Enchanted Forest and gave them _new_ memories and 21st Century _skills_! Look out the window. We got people who were born as _medieval peasants_ out there driving cars and writing software!

"This is _very _powerful magic, Henry. And it's going to take even _more_ powerful magic to break the Dark Curse to allow Venger to do what he wants to do."

"My _real _mom is the _Savior_," said Henry. "_She's_ the one who will break the Dark Curse; not Venger."

"Maybe Venger does not have to actually _break_ the curse, Henry," said Kosar. "Maybe he just has to push it back, or something; just enough for him, his nightmare and Shadow Demon to get back to The Realm. He'll need his magic to do this, Henry. And for that, he first needs to restore magic to all of Storybrooke. If he does that, he may be unstoppable."

"So what do we do?" said Henry.

"As weird as this sounds, I think that for now we should do everything we can to _keep _Venger here in Storybrooke, where we can keep an eye on him," said Kosar. "Right now, he does not have _any_ magic powers, so he's only Earth-style dangerous.

"Then we wait until your _biological _mom breaks the Dark Curse and everyone here gets their real memories back. Then the _whole town_ can deal with Venger. Frankly, I'd rather leave _that _part to the grown-ups."

"Me too, Kosar," said Henry. "Venger seems pretty powerful magically, at least in the cartoon. If he gets his magic back on his terms, I don't know if anyone here in Storybrooke will be able to stop him."

Kosar thought for a moment and then said, "What about your _adoptive mom_, Henry. Mayor Regina Mills. The Evil Queen. Do you think that Venger could take her out if they had to throw-down?"

Henry shook his head bitterly. "The only way that Venger is likely to "take out" the Evil Queen is if he _asks _her out on a _date _and she accepts!"

"At least then my Uncle Presto would be in the clear if that happened . . . ."

"And for the one-millionth time, she's _not _my mom, Kosar . . . ." Henry stopped when he saw Kosar bob his head as if to say, "look behind you." When Henry turned, he saw Regina and Kosar's mom standing behind him.

Kosar's mom gave Henry a disapproving stare. In her mind, _nothing _could justify disrespecting your parents.

"I thought that we might find you two here," said Regina neutrally. "Now come with us. We have a very important matter to discuss, and we can't do it here."

"Let's go now, son," said Diana, as she set a twenty dollar bill on the table to cover the boys' snack. "Your father is waiting for us."

Kosar knew from his mom's tone that it was pointless to argue. He gave the book back to Henry, who slid it into his backpack, then followed Kosar and his mother, with Regina close behind.

Unable to do anything else, the boys complied; and the four of them made the short walk across the street to Dr. Hopper's office in silence.


	9. Venger and The Dark One

**Chapter 9 Venger and The Dark One**

A few moments after the boys left the shop, the "potential customer" that Mr. Gold mentioned he was expecting heralded his arrival by the roar of a 12-cylinder, high performance engine with red painted cam covers, from which the vehicle that it powered took its name. The roar of the engine abruptly cut off, and was soon followed by the sounds of two solid car doors closing. Conspicuously absent was the expected chirping sound of a keyless lock that would indicate the activation of an antitheft security system commonly found on such expensive automobiles. But Mr. Gold knew that this was not necessary. Any potential car thief would be in for a nasty surprise if they attempted to steal _this_ particular "car."

The bell at the door of the shop tinkled and two men came in. The first man was over seven feet tall and wore an expensive, tailored Italian suit and a Bluetooth-type cellphone with a larger-than-to-be-expected red antenna in his left ear. The other man, following a respectful several steps behind the first man, was also wearing an expensive suit, though with a fit that suggested it came off-the-rack.

As soon as the men reached the counter, Mr. Gold said, "Hello, Alessandro. I was expecting you, though I must confess that I thought you would have come to my shop the same day you first arrived in Storybrooke . . . .

"I dislike "small talk," Mr. Gold," said the first man, whose voice reverberated off the walls of the shop. "I have come for what is mine."

"Now, what would that be, Alessandro?" said Mr. Gold evenly.

Without Mr. Gold realizing that he had moved, the second man was now standing by the display case with the Archmage medallion. "I have found your property, Mr. Talionis."

"The items in that display case are not stolen," said Mr. Gold evenly. "Nor are they for sale."

"That is good," said Mr. Talionis. "For I have _not_ come to your "shop" to buy or barter, least of all for an item that I already rightfully own."

"I acquired that particular piece," said Mr. Gold. "On the morning of October 23, 1983; and I am able to _prove_ ownership in any court of law should you decide to pursue the matter –"

Mr. Gold was interrupted by a yelp from Mr. Talionis' Personal Secretary, who had moved behind the display case in an attempt to remove the medallion. "It is protected by a spell!"

Alessandro Talionis replied with a barely perceptible nod, returned his attention to Mr. Gold and said, "Release the spell, Dark One."

"I can't, Alessandro."

If it were possible, Mr. Talionis' expression hardened even more than it had been when he first came into the shop. "Do not be a _fool_, Dark One. Do you remember what happened to Kelek when he foolishly attempted to defy me? Ah, from your expression, I see that you _do _remember. He, too, sought to prevent me from obtaining that which I desired with a similar spell . . . ."

"I've heard tell of it," admitted Mr. Gold evenly. "Something about a dispute over the ownership of a collection of alicorns, wasn't it?"

"Then surely you also remember how Kelek paid for his foolish insolence? Do you wish to suffer the same fate?"

"The protective spell on my display case was cast _before _we came to the Land Without Magic, Alessandro," said Mr. Gold. "I do not have the ability to remove it even if I wanted to. There is very little magic left here in Storybrooke."

"Yes," admitted Mr. Talionis. "This world is magic-poor."

"Though not completely _without_ magic, contrary to what its name might suggest," said Mr. Gold. "Magic is rare here. But it does exist. For example, if you ever happen to find yourself in New York, even if your full powers are back, I would suggest that you do nothing to antagonize a certain Balthazar Blake. It may just be the last thing you ever do . . . .

"Of course, now that you are here in _Storybrooke_, going to New York - or _anywhere_ else in this world for that matter, is something of a moot point."

"I have no intention of going anywhere else but back to my home in The Realm, Dark One," said Mr. Talionis. "And to do that, I must have my medallion."

"I would think twice about doing what I think you are planning to do, Alessandro," said Mr. Gold. "For one thing, if you bring magic back to Storybrooke, you will not be the only one to get their powers back.

"I'll have my powers back, and so will Regina. Not to mention that the act of restoring magic will _also_ restore the memories of everyone here. Once they realize who you _really_ are, Alessandro, you may just find yourself facing a mob armed with rifles, shotguns and pistols instead of torches and pitchforks. In any case, Alessandro, I cannot let you have the medallion to do this."

"Oh, no?" said Mr. Talionis. "As you just pointed out, I will not be able to leave Storybrooke now that I am here due to the power of the Dark Curse. And while I am here, Rumpelstiltskin, I shall have little to do but hunt for your dagger. If I find it, I shall be able to _compel _you to return my medallion . . . ."

"If . . . ," allowed Mr. Gold.

"Ah, it is _inevitable_ that I shall find your dagger, Dark One," said Mr. Talionis dismissively. "Storybrooke is not that big of a place to search. And my "assistant" is very good at finding that which I want to be found; even in his present form. And then you will have no choice but to comply with my demands - all of my demands. And be assured that my demands will not be sated merely by the return of my medallion.

"Ever since you fell into Zoso's trap and became the current Dark One, you have been a thorn in my side. For almost three centuries, I have been subjected to your insolence and disrespect. Where I to obtain your dagger, you know that you shall pay dearly for your manner with me. That is one possibility . . . .

"The other is that we strike a bargain. Yes, Dark One, your penchant for making deals is too well known, even to those in the Land of Vibrant Colors. And as the natives of _this _world would say; I now make you an offer that you _cannot _refuse . . . .

"Give me the medallion. Do not attempt to interfere with my making use of it to return home. And in exchange for your cooperation, I shall _end_ my search for the dagger that has you ensorcelled. I shall return home and forgive your past insolences."

"And if I refuse to accept your "generous offer," Venger?"

"My "generous offer" has a time limit, Rumpelstiltskin," said Mr. Talionis. "Even as we speak, my search for your dagger continues. Should I find it before you agree to my terms, my offer will be rescinded.

"I shall return to your shop tomorrow at this very time. If I have yet to find your dagger, I would strongly suggest that you give me my medallion while you still can. And so it shall be each day thereafter until you agree to my terms . . . or I until find your dagger. Heed my words, Dark One. Do NOT be a _fool_ . . . ."

Moments later, Alessandro Talionis and Mr. Damon were driving back to their rented house. Mr. Talionis said, "You have done well, Mr. Damon. Soon, we shall return home, restored to our natural forms."

"You may rest assured that I shall be watching the Dark One most diligently," said Mr. Damon. "It is only a matter of time before he decides to check on the security of the dagger wherever he has it hidden."

"Very good," said Mr. Talionis. "As to the other matter, have you managed to locate the last remaining Weapon of Power, Mr. Damon?"

Mr. Damon nodded. "The Griffon Shield is either in the possession of the son of the Cavalier and the Acrobat, or he has given it to his friend, Prince Henry, for safekeeping. Either way, those little boys can neither destroy the Griffon Shield nor hide it for long. You shall have it in your possession by the time you make your presentation to this town."

"Very good, Mr. Damon," said Mr. Talionis as he stopped for a red light. "That will be a day that shall long be remembered. We shall return home restored to our normal form with the Weapons of Power and, perhaps, the Dark One as my slave."

Without setting foot on the accelerator, the Ferrari Testarossa's engine revved. Mr. Talionis gently stroked the steering wheel and smiled. "Soon, my faithful friend. Soon . . . ."


	10. Separation and Anxiety

**Chapter 10: Separation and Anxiety**

When the boys and their moms got to Dr. Hopper's office, Eric and Dr. Hopper (along with his ever-present canine companion, Pongo,) were already there waiting for them.

"Will everybody please be seated," said Dr. Hopper. Henry tried to sit next to Kosar, but Regina and Diana directed their sons to sit with them in couches facing each other, separated by a coffee table. When Eric took his seat next to his son, Dr. Hopper cleared his throat, and began.

"Boys, there is no easy way for me to say this, so I'm afraid that I will have to be rather blunt. I think – and your parents agree - that it would be best if the two of you do not associate with each other for the foreseeable future." Henry and Kosar both started to protest, but were cut off by Regina and Diana. Eric just shrugged apologetically to his son.

"Please try to understand that I thought it would be a _good_ thing that Henry had made a friend his own age," said Dr. Hopper, mainly to Regina. "I was _hoping_ that a real friendship would help him abandon his fantasy worldview." Dr. Hopper turned to the Montgomerys and added, " But what I could not foresee at the time was that I would _also _be treating Kosar for a _very_ similar condition. It would be one thing if I was seeing Kosar for any _other_ reason; say if he was being teased at school because of his weight or because he is biracial . . . ."

"Actually," said Eric. "We prefer the term, "multiethnic," Dr. Hopper."

Diana nodded, and added, "After all, we are all _one_ race in this world: _human_."

Kosar winced with embarrassment, turned to Dr. Hopper and quickly said, "My parents didn't mean anything _offensive_ by that, Dr. Hopper!"

Diana took a deep, cleansing breath, let it out and said, "See, son, this is _exactly_ why we feel that you and Henry _should_ be separated for the time being. It would seem that in the few short days that you have known each other, that Henry has _you _believing that Dr. Hopper is really an intelligent grasshopper, namely _Jiminy Cricket_!"

Eric added, "And _you_ have Henry believing that Alessandro Talionis is really Lord Voldemort!"

"Don't be _silly_, dad!" blurted Kosar as he jumped to his feet. "Lord Voldemort _is_ make-believe! _Venger_, The Force of Evil from the Realm of Dungeons and Dragons is _very _real!"

"Please sit down, son," said Diana with a patience that was wearing thin. "And apologize to your father for disrespecting him."

Before Kosar could say anything else, Henry also stood and said, "NO! Kosar is right! Mr. Talionis is _Venger_! He's not interested in building a chemical plant here in Storybrooke! He has something _else_ in mind, and we need to find out what it is _before_ it is too late!"

"This is what I was afraid of," said Dr. Hopper softly. "The "echo-chamber effect;" the boys' respective fantasy world-views are beginning to _combine_. This needs to be treated _aggressively_ before it gets any worse. They need to be separated _immediately_."

"But . . . we were going to have a _sleepover _at Kosar's place, tonight!" protested Henry. Kosar nodded. But the adults ignored the boys.

"What about school?" said Eric. "Both boys are in Miss Blanchard's class."

"I'll draft a letter to the school," said Dr. Hopper. "Kosar will be moved to another classroom immediately. And needless to say, they will have different recess and lunch periods."

"And your dad or I will be driving you to and from school, Kosar," said Diana. "It won't do for you and Henry to ride the same bus, for now."

"But mom . . . _dad_ . . . ," said Kosar.

Eric put his hand on his son's shoulder. "I don't like it any more than you do, son. But it's for your own good. Both your good and Henry's . . . ."

Diana shook her head. "It's just too bad for both boys. I really hoped that Kosar and Henry could play together –"

"Uh, you mean, "hang-out," Diana," said Eric. "They're both almost 11 for cryin' out loud!"

"What_ever_," said Diana with an exhausted sigh.

Dr. Hopper said that he wanted to talk with the boys' parents for a few more moments. To ensure that the boys could not say anything to each other, Diana told her son to wait for her and his father in the car until they came out. Kosar said a quick "goodbye" to Henry and went outside to wait for his parents.

As Kosar was leaving, he heard Dr. Hopper advising his parents and the Evil Queen to monitor their sons' computers and cellphones, to ensure that they would not be able to communicate with each other until he could be certain that the boys were "making real progress."

But determined fifth grade boys _always_ had other, low-tech means at their disposal . . . .

Kosar used the time alone to good effect, quickly scribbling a note to Henry on a sheet of notebook paper. Kosar was relieved to find that Henry left the door open on the Evil Queen's Mercedes, and quickly stuffed the note inside of Henry's backpack, and hoped for the best. In his quick note, Kosar told his best friend and comrade-in-arms that he would contact him, somehow, at school tomorrow. Whatever else might happen, Operation Cobra/Mongoose would continue, and _whatever _Venger was planning in Storybrooke would not go unopposed.

The next morning, Henry left for the bus stop early, hoping to catch Emma at Granny's before school, and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the sheriff sitting at one of the tables using a laptop. As soon as she noticed Henry, Emma motioned for him to come over, and then asked Ruby to bring the boy "the usual;" a cup of hot cocoa with whipped cream sprinkled with cinnamon.

"Hey, kid," said Emma. "I heard about what happened yesterday after school with you and your friend, Kosar. I'm really sorry. I was hoping that you would finally have someone your age to hang with; especially before you start Sixth Grade next year. Believe me, Middle School can be a frightening place without someone there who's got your back . . . ."

Henry thanked Emma for the cocoa, took a sip, and said, "So, what are you reading?"

"I wanted to find out all that I could about Alessandro Talionis and RealmCorp," said Emma. "From what I have already read, Mr. Talionis can be quite persistent if he does not get his way." Henry moved to look over her shoulder and saw an article on the Forbes website that proclaimed Mr. Talionis the "Warlock of Wall Street," as it detailed his latest deal with Russia's energy company, Gazprom. Accompanying the article was a photo of Alessandro Talionis speaking with an obviously nervous Vladimir Putin.

"And what else did you find out about "Mr. Talionis," Emma?"

"Well, other than the fact that he seems to be a ruthless and amoral sociopath who's hurt a lot of people and apparently keeps getting away with it, not too much," said Emma. She took a sip of her cocoa, and added, "And he's rich enough to buy out Donald Trump about a dozen times over. He even has George Soros and the Koch Brothers intimidated, if you believe the hype. But no one seems to have a clue about who he really is and where he comes from."

"That's because he's really _Venger_, the Force of Evil from the "Dungeons and Dragons" cartoon! And he's here right now in Storybrooke!"

Emma sighed, "Henry, Fairytales are one thing, but Saturday Morning Cartoons is where I have to draw the line. All that "Warlock of Wall Street" stuff is just something made up by the media to sell papers and magazines. Alessandro Talionis is no more Lord Voldemort than I am Sabrina, the Teenage Witch."

Henry fished around in his backpack and pulled out his "Dungeons &amp; Dragons: The Animated Series" DVD and handed it to Emma. To Henry's surprise, Emma not only took it from him without balking, she even studied the front cover for a few moments before turning it over to read what was on the back of the case.

"Please, Emma! You'll find out all that you need to know about Venger in this DVD," said Henry. "Somehow, he must have gotten pulled into our world by the Evil Queen's curse."

Emma nodded thoughtfully. "You know, kid, I think that I may have seen this cartoon on TV a few times when I was about your age."

"Watch the episode, "Child of the Stargazer" first; that's the episode where Kosar's name is mentioned. Then start at the beginning and work your way forward."

For a moment, Emma looked like she was about to hand the DVD back to Henry, but seeming to have a second thought, set it aside with her other papers. Henry allowed himself a thin smile. This was a good sign in the "glass is half-full" sense of the phrase. She did not give it back or say that she would not watch it. The only question remaining is whether or not she would watch it in time to do any good . . . .

"Maybe I'll watch it later, Henry," said Emma. "I really don't have much time to watch cartoons now. I kind of have my hands full with the dog-and-pony-show that Mr. Talionis is putting on this Saturday evening and the people that are coming in to help him. Speaking of which . . . I want you to casually look behind you at the "gentlemen" who have just walked in . . . ."

Henry turned around to see about a dozen large men in dark suits enter Granny's Diner. They waited as Ruby pushed several tables together, then sat down and gave the pretty waitress their orders. "Who are they?" said Henry.

"They showed up in Storybrooke last night," said Emma. "They came in two large vans with "RealmCorp Services" written on the sides. The leader of the group said that they came to set up the presentation and to provide security for Mr. Talionis . . . ."

Emma's voice trailed off. The Sheriff of Storybrooke closed the lid of her laptop and stood from her seat. Henry looked behind him and saw that one of the men had come over to their table. The men from RealmCorp Services were all large and rough looking and up close, they were even more so. Henry even saw the monogram "RCS" embroidered in gold thread on their jacket breast pockets. The man stared down at Henry, who shrunk back into his seat, trapped between the large man and the table. Then he felt a hand on his shoulder that was both gentle and comforting. He looked up and saw that Emma was standing beside him, meeting the man's stare with a hard stare of her own.

"Please step back, sir," said Emma evenly but firmly. "My son needs to leave for school, now."

After a long, drawn-out moment, the man took a step back. It was a small step; but one large enough for Henry to slip out of his seat and stand. The man snorted at the boy before turning to Emma. "Another group of RCS will be coming here later this morning, Sheriff," said the man in a rough, grunting voice. "I will let you know when they have arrived."

Henry's heart skipped a beat when the man said "RCS." The man had pronounced the acronym, "Arrkss," and Henry knew who these "men" were: Orcs. These men were Venger's _orcs_, remade by the Evil Queen's Dark Curse into human form the same way that Jiminy Cricket was remade as Dr. Archie Hopper.

Henry counted eleven "RCS" in all. And even more were coming to Storybrooke later today? Somehow, Henry had to get a message to Kosar; not only were they about to face Venger and Shadow Demon, but Orcs as well. After saying a quick goodbye to Emma, Henry ran for the bus stop, hoping that he would be able to get a moment with Kosar to give him the news when he got to school.

The next day as Mr. Gold prepared to open his shop, he saw a manila envelope stuck in the door. Quickly, he unlocked the door and, moving as fast as his damaged leg would allow, he went over to the counter where he opened the envelope. Gold knew what he would find when he did, and he was right. It was a photo of the Dark One's Kris Dagger bearing his name: "Rumpelstiltskin." Gold had not held the photo for ten seconds when his cellphone rang, and he answered without hesitation. "How?"

"I knew that you could not resist checking the safety of your dagger's hiding place or even attempting to move it to a more secure location, Dark One," said Alessandro Talionis. "Mr. Damon saw all, even if you did not see him."

"What do you want, Alessandro? Without any magic in Storybrooke, you cannot use it to command me. Are you planning to drive it into my heart, then? All you will do is kill me, but again, without magic, you would not absorb the powers of the Dark One.

"Now, if you will excuse me, I need to call Sheriff Swan to have you arrested for stealing my property. Thank you so much for providing me with all the evidence she needs to obtain a warrant."

"That would be unwise, Dark One . . . ." Startled, Mr. Gold looked up to see Alessandro Talionis and Mr. Damon standing on the other side of the counter. Gold blinked. He had not heard them enter his shop! "For if you believe that I am not dangerous without my magic; then you are gravely mistaken."

"H-how?" said Mr. Gold, backing away. But he could not back away quickly enough or far enough away to stay out of Talionis' reach. A large, pale hand moved with the speed of a striking cobra, tightening around the Dark One's neck and lifting him from the floor.

Gold dropped his cane and tried to pry Venger's hand from his neck, but it was useless. Even without magic, the Archmage was still _physically_ powerful and his hand felt like it was made of forged steel.

"If I tighten my grip, you shall die and I shall have my medallion after you draw your last breath." Venger let his words sink in a few moments before continuing. "But then, as you say, the powers of the Dark One would be lost. Besides, you owe me reparations for all your past taunts and insults. For that reason alone, a quick death is more than you deserve.

"So instead, I have decided to allow you to serve me, Dark One. And in return, when I leave for my home in The Realm, I shall reward you by allowing you to remain here in this pathetic, insignificant world. Here you shall be powerless. But you shall remain alive. And in the Enchanted Realms, the Dark One shall no longer be a thorn in my side." Venger loosened his grip and Mr. Gold collapsed to the floor, gasping for air. "Now, return my medallion to me, Dark One!"

"I-I can't . . . ," stammered Gold. Again, Venger reached for his throat as Gold backed away, cowering against the back wall. "W-what I mean is that the protection spell was not cast on the display case! I enchanted the medallion itself! The spell will not allow you to get within a foot of the Archmage Medallion, much less touch it; even if you wore gloves! Only I may handle it in any way without being harmed! Kill me and the medallion is lost to you, forever!"

"Oh, so . . . ?" Venger thought for a moment. A minor change of plans was in order, and Venger realized that this change would actually work for the better, since he would not need to spare Shadow Demon or an orc to do his bidding.

Venger nodded and said, "That is of little consequence, Dark One. I do not actually need to handle the medallion for it to serve me." Venger nodded to Mr. Damon, and the two men started to leave Gold's shop. As they reached the door, Venger turned and said, "Tomorrow night, I shall make my presentation to the people of Storybrooke at your Town Hall. As I do this, you shall take my medallion to the Wishing Well and at 8:15 that evening; here is what you shall do . . . ."


	11. Unbreakable

**Chapter 11: Unbreakable **

The school day seemed to drag on and on for Henry. If Kosar had left another, more detailed note for him, he had yet to find it. Morning recess, lunch time, and afternoon recess came and went without any message from his friend, and time was running out. The RealmCorp presentation at the Town Hall was set for tomorrow, Saturday night. This did not give the boys a lot of time to take action. But Henry had one, last hope. At the end of the day, Henry went to his locker, hoping that Kosar had slipped him a note. But after a thorough search, Henry did not find anything.

When Henry closed his locker door, he was surprised to see a tall, pretty Seventh Grade girl standing there, looking frankly at him. It was Ava "Gretel" Zimmer. "I have a message from Kosar, Henry," said Ava evenly. "Kosar says that he wants you to try to destroy "you-know-what." And that if you cannot destroy it, then throw it away somewhere where nobody can find it." Before Henry could give her a message to take to Kosar about the arrival of Venger's orcs, Ava turned and swiftly disappeared down the hall, melting into the crowd of students leaving school for the weekend.

When Henry got home, the Evil Queen said that she had a few things to discuss with the Montgomerys and their friends about how to counter RealmCorp's presentation at the Town Hall tomorrow night, and was going to be at Granny's Bed and Breakfast for the next few hours.

"And while I am away," said the Evil Queen. "I want you to stay here. Yes to homework, no to television. And under no circumstances are you to attempt to contact Kosar. In any case, he will be busy helping his parents prepare for tomorrow night."

"But won't we be able to talk with each other at the Town Hall meeting tomorrow night?" said Henry, adding "Mom?" as an afterthought.

"No, Henry," said the Evil Queen. "You will remain here tomorrow night as well. Dr. Hopper was very explicit in his instructions."

"What about Kosar?" said Henry. "Will he have to stay home, too?"

"Kosar will be assisting his parents at the Town Hall," said the Evil Queen. "He has a lot of prior experience with speaking to other kids and answering their questions about the dangers faced by towns that do business with RealmCorp.

"You know, Henry, if you had only given up on your fantasy world earlier, you and Kosar could have had that sleepover tonight, worked at the Town Hall meeting together tomorrow night, and been able to pal around together like a couple of typical fifth grade boys afterwards.

"I should tell you that I had considered getting a sitter for you for tomorrow night. But this Town Hall meeting has generated so much interest, that nobody is available. So I will be leaving you here, tonight and tomorrow night, on your word that you will not go anywhere."

"Yes, mom," said Henry.

Henry's use of the word "mom" without the slightest trace of sarcasm made the Evil Queen smile. "And when I do get back home, after I am sure that Storybrooke is safe from Alessandro Talionis and RealmCorp, then we will be able to talk about making that "real progress" that Dr. Hopper mentioned earlier. And I'll even let you in on a little secret that you have probably already figured out anyway. If you and Kosar do show "real progress" that you are abandoning these elaborate, fantasy worlds that you both have constructed, then you and your friend will be able to hang out together, after all.

"It will be slow going, Henry. Dr. Hopper said that these things take time. But if all goes well, then the two of you will be able to hang out together _long_ before you find yourselves splitting the cost of a limo to take two very lucky young ladies to your High School Senior Prom."

Again, Henry said, "Yes, mom."

The Evil Queen kissed Henry goodbye, and a moment later, Henry Mills was by himself in the Mayor's Mansion. After waiting ten more minutes to be sure that the Evil Queen would not come back, Henry ran upstairs to his room, retrieved Kosar's father's Cavalier Medallion, and set to work. But though the medallion looked like it was made from cheap plastic with a layer of "gold" tinted aluminum plating, it was proving to be stronger than it looked.

First, Henry tried to cut it up with a hacksaw that he found in the basement. After he broke three blades trying to cut the medallion up (without so much as scratching it,) he tried smashing it with a hammer, and did not even put a dent in it.

Then in a final move of desperation, Henry went to the kitchen and turned on the oven, setting it to 500 degrees, and put the medallion in on an old baking sheet. But when Henry checked on it fifteen minutes later, then a half an hour later, and then an hour later, he saw that the medallion was unharmed.

"What is this thing made out of?" said Henry to himself. "Is this thing made of plastic or adamantium?" And then something occurred to Henry that he should have realized earlier: if Kosar was right, this medallion was the Cavalier's Griffon Shield from the cartoon. And if that was the case, then the medallion would be as indestructible as the shield it represented. This left Henry with only one other option. He would dispose of the medallion by throwing it away at the only place that he could be sure it could not be recovered from: the old Wishing Well.

But Henry noted the time, and realized that the Evil Queen would be returning home shortly. Disposing of the medallion tonight would be out of the question. So Henry decided to dispose of the medallion tomorrow when the Evil Queen left to prepare for the Town Hall meeting. That would be cutting it close, Henry knew. But it was the only option available that he could think of. So Henry finished what homework he had, then stuffed the medallion under his pillow and collapsed onto his bed to try to think things through. Before he knew it, he had fallen asleep in his clothes, and did not wake up until it was seven o'clock Saturday morning. The Town Hall Meeting was only 12 hours away!

Henry scrambled out of bed and ran downstairs to the kitchen, where he heard the Evil Queen talking with someone. Henry got to the doorway, and froze. Kosar's Uncle Russell (AKA "Presto the Magician,") was sitting at the kitchen table working on his laptop. The two of them had obviously just finished breakfast and the Evil Queen was giving Kosar's uncle a refill of coffee.

". . . was my fiancé, Daniel," said the Evil Queen. "He died from a, ah, a _heart attack_ when he was in his early 20's, just before we could marry."

"I'm sorry to hear that, 'Gina," said Presto nodding. "I've never even been engaged, myself . . . Oh, good morning, Henry."

The Evil Queen said, "Good morning, son. How long have you been standing there in the doorway, Henry?"

"I, uh, just got here," said Henry. "So, did . . . Kosar's uncle . . . spend the night here . . . ?"

The Evil Queen's expression sharpened. "Not that it is any of your business, young man, but no, Mr. Sydney just got here a half an hour ago . . . !"

Presto the Magician held up a hand in a soothing gesture. "It's alright, 'Gina. As the son of a single mother myself, I can understand that Henry might be a little _uncomfortable_ seeing us together like this." Then to Henry, he said, "But just so you know, Henry, your mother and I are just friends. And in case you are wondering, that's friends _without_ benefits, if you get my meaning. I came here to go over our group's website with your mom before the presentation this evening."

"Is that the only reason that you are here, Mr. Sydney?" said Henry neutrally.

Presto smiled. "Well, this will be a quieter place for me to work, compared to our "Command Center" at Granny's B&amp;B. But your mother also wants someone here to be with you, since she will be away most of the day."

"But I'm old enough to be on my own," protested Henry. "I'm almost _eleven_. I don't need a babysitter!"

"You're right, Henry," said the Evil Queen frankly. "But until we can establish a treatment plan for you and your friend, Dr. Hopper wants us to be sure that you and Kosar do not attempt to contact each other in the meantime. But don't worry. Coming up with a plan to help the two of you abandon the elaborate fantasy world that you have created will be our first priority after RealmCorp is defeated.

"Now, I have to be at Granny's in twenty minutes. Kosar's parents wanted to go over a few more details about our counter-presentation. I'll be back to pick up Russ – Mr. Sydney, around six tonight, and I will bring you some dinner from Granny's Diner when I do. If all goes well, I should be home tonight no later than eleven. That should give you around five hours of "home alone" time. And you know what you have to do, then?"

Henry sighed. "Well, I finished my homework last night. So I suppose it's still no to television, and stay inside."

The Evil Queen sighed back, and said, "Well, since this is Saturday night, I suppose a little TV won't hurt you. But I definitely want you to stay inside."

Satisfied, the Evil Queen nodded, and said, "Well, then, I guess I'll see you both around six tonight." She gave Henry a quick kiss goodbye. Her son was still somewhat distant, but at least he did not flinch when she kissed him as he had been doing of late. That was _something_, she supposed. And a few moments later, Henry found himself alone with Presto the Magician.

Presto returned to his laptop, and said, "RealmCorp _always _tries to hack our website just before a meeting like this one, Henry. I need to constantly monitor it to keep it up and available. But if there is anything that you would like to talk about while I work, I'd be more than happy to . . . ."

"Uh, Russ -," said Henry. "May I call you, "Russ;" or do you prefer "Mr. Sydney," for now?"

"Russ is fine. But if you want to, you can call me "Presto." Everyone does."

Henry nodded, and realized that he just may have an opportunity to make Kosar's Uncle see what is really going on with RealmCorp and Storybrooke. For better or worse, Presto was becoming friends with the Evil Queen with the possibility of the relationship becoming something more . . . serious. Henry shook his head. _If only Presto knew her _true_ identity . . . ._

But at least there was one silver lining to this otherwise scary development. Because Presto was getting close to his "mom," Henry figured that Presto would want to win his approval, and would be willing to listen with more patience than he had been with his nephew Kosar.

Henry's mind clicked into high-gear. "So . . . how's your group's website? Is Ven-, uh, _Mr. Talionis_ trying to do anything to it?"

"Well, there is this e-mail testimonial from someone claiming to be a former employee of RealmCorp," said Presto with a tincture of skepticism. "They claim to have been badly hurt by unsafe working conditions. But we don't have time to do any hard fact-checking before the presentation.

"It may be the real thing. Or it may be a lie planted by RealmCorp to damage our credibility. It won't be the first time that Mr. Talionis has tried something like that to make us look bad. Though normally, his hackers just goes with a plain-vanilla, "denial-of-service" attack."

Then Henry made his move. "Kosar said that you were a big nerd in high school, weren't you?"

Presto looked up from his screen, gave a slight laugh, and said, "I wasn't "A" big nerd, in high school, Henry. I was THE Big Nerd. Why do you ask?"

"Well, Kosar's mom and Uncle Hank were "jocks," right?" said Henry. Presto nodded, and Henry continued. "Kosar's dad was a spoiled rich kid slacker. And his Aunt Sheila was kind of an introvert and his Uncle Bob was her impulsive kid brother? Does that about cover it . . . ?"

Presto made a slight shrug. "I guess so. What's your point?"

"Well . . . just _how_ exactly did you all become friends?" said Henry. "I mean, I can understand you guys becoming friends when you were older and got together to fight RealmCorp. But how does a group of kids like _that_ become friends in _school_? From where I'm sitting, you all seem like an even more contrived group of friends than the kids on "Saved by the Bell." Stuff like this just _doesn't_ happen in real life . . . ."

Presto paused for a moment as though thinking about his answer, but only for a moment. He shook his head impatiently and said, "Okay, this is about Kosar's fantasy world where we are all Saturday Morning Cartoon characters, or something like that, isn't it . . . ?

"Because if that is what this is about, Henry; we don't have any time for this nonsense right now. RealmCorp is about to put on its song and dance to the people of Storybrooke to get a chemical plant built here. They'll promise jobs and a booming economy even while they ruin Storybrooke in the process and then leave what's left of this town to twist in the wind –"

Presto was cut short by his cellphone ringing. He answered it, and said, "Hey, Bob, what's up? You're kidding? It's a brand-new car . . . . Yeah, I guess . . . . Well, do you need someone to come and get you? I'm at the Mayor's Mansion right now, and I don't have a car . . . . Alright, call me when you get back. At least it's under warrantee. Later."

"What just happened?"

Presto said, "Henry, Bob's new car broke down. He was going to pick up his fiancé and was almost out of town when his "check engine" light came on and his car just "died."

"Are we going to have to get him?"

"No, Henry," said Presto, putting his phone back in his pocket. "Bob said that your mom's calling for a tow truck. Bob will come back in the truck. The driver said that he would take him back to Granny's before taking his car to the Marine Garage."

A thought came to Henry. "Why did Bob have to pick up Terri?" Doesn't she have a car?"

"Yeah, she rented one when she landed at Bangor Airport," said Presto. "But she said that she could not find Storybrooke, no matter how hard she tried." Presto shook his head. "She said that Storybrooke was not on her GPS, and that the directions we texted her didn't help, either.

"So Bob said that he would meet Terri at a Denny's that's about fifteen miles from here, and she could follow him back. But then this happened . . . ." Presto sighed wearily. "Terri said that she would get a room at a nearby motel and wait there in the meantime. But it looks like she won't be here to help us with the presentation. Funny thing about this is that Terri said that she had a dream about not be able to find Storybrooke the night before . . . ." Presto shook his head, and returned to monitoring the laptop.

Henry said, "You know, Presto, there was a character named "Terri" in an episode of the "Dungeons and Dragons Cartoon" called, "The Girl Who Dreamed Tomorrow" on Kosar's DVD."

Presto said, "Henry, you and my nephew really need to drop this fantasy that the two of you have concocted. It's already cost the both of you too much."

"But if you could only get a message to Kosar for me! He's got to know about what just happened to his Uncle Bob and his fiancé and I just know that his mom and dad won't let him know about this or let his uncle tell him . . . ."

Presto closed his laptop, and said, "Henry, you _know_ that I can't do that . . . .

"But . . . ."

"Henry, this may come as a shock to you, but even _new cars_, break-down. That's why they come with warrantees. There is nothing "magical" that caused it to keep Bob from leaving Storybrooke. It's an inconvenience – a _mundane_ inconvenience, and nothing more. For that matter, I don't even think that RealmCorp _thugs_ did anything to make Bob's car break-down, either."

"I – I guess . . . ." said Henry noncommittally. Presto smiled and nodded, and then returned to monitoring his laptop. Henry would have to try another approach. He went to his room, got his book, "Once Upon A Time," and joined Presto at the table to read it, hoping that he would get a new idea from its pages. Time passed. Lunch came and went (and Henry had to admit that Presto could make a really good grilled-cheese and ham sandwich.) But as of the early afternoon, Henry was no closer to coming up with an idea to convince Presto of the danger that they were all in.

Henry felt the medallion in his back pocket. His last chance – _everybody's last chance_ – would be for him to toss the medallion down the Wishing Well to keep Venger from getting it. But to do that, he would need to wait for the Evil Queen to come home to get Presto. Once alone, it would not take Henry long to get to the well.

Around six o'clock, the Evil Queen came back home to pick up Presto so they could get to the Town Hall to prepare for the presentation that evening.

"I stopped at Granny's Diner on the way over," said the Evil Queen handing Henry a take-out bag. I got you a burger and fries for dinner. Now, Henry, I need you to be a good boy and stay home while we are at the presentation. We'll probably be back after eleven this evening, but I have my phone with me if you need to reach me. Hopefully by tomorrow, this ordeal will be over, Storybrooke will be safe, and things will get better for everyone.

"So, Russ, how did things go with the two of you while I was away?"

"Not too badly, 'Gina," said Presto. "If RealmCorp tried anything, I didn't see it. But I'll still need to keep monitoring once we get to the Town Hall."

Again, the Evil Queen kissed Henry goodbye, and she and Presto drove off to the Town Hall in her Mercedes where the others were waiting. Fifteen long minutes passed, but Henry put the time to good use. He filled the kitchen sink with water and threw the medallion in to see if it would float, and it did float, as he suspected that it would.

Then Henry got some bailing wire from the basement, and tied the medallion to a brick from the garden to make sure that it would sink. For good measure, he covered this with several layers of duct tape. When he was finished, Henry put the weighted medallion in his school backpack to make it easier to carry. He was finally ready to dispose of the medallion to keep it from Venger. He started to leave the house, but then as an afterthought, Henry went back to his room to get the medallion that he had earned last year for winning First Place in the Storybrooke Elementary School Annual Spelling Bee. It was about the same size as Kosar's father's medallion, and Henry felt that it might come in handy if he was being threatened in any way and needed something to toss aside as a diversion.

Moments later, Henry was on his way to the Wishing Well, hoping that he would not be too late to thwart Venger's plans.


	12. Magic Is Coming

**Chapter 12: Magic Is Coming**

The RealmCorp presentation at the Town Hall had generated so much interest that the streets of Storybrooke were nearly deserted. Though the actual presentation would not begin until 8:00 pm, a reception catered by Granny's Diner would come before the two sides presented their cases to the people of Storybrooke. Henry hoped that nobody would see him and alert the Evil Queen as he made his way to the Wishing Well, and so far his luck seemed to be holding out as he reached the footpath to the well.

When the Wishing Well was in sight, Henry broke into a run, anxious to dispose of the medallion that Venger needed to return home. But then Henry noticed that he was not alone. Standing between him and the Wishing Well was Mr. Damon, personal secretary to Alessandro Talionis. Henry blinked. _How could this man have come between me and the well?_ _The path was clear seconds ago . . . ._

But Henry knew the answer to his own question as soon as he thought it. This man was actually Venger's servant and spy, Shadow Demon. And just like in the Saturday Morning Cartoon where he came from, he was always around when you least expected him to be.

"Prince Henry . . . ," said the living shadow in the form of a man; his voice at once smarmy and threatening. "How _thoughtful_ of you to meet me here with my employer's property . . . ."

Henry reached into his pocket for his Spelling Bee medallion. "You want it? Go get it!" Henry tossed the medallion to the side and ran off in the opposite direction as Shadow Demon went for the decoy. Henry ran down the path, planning to double back to throw the _real _medallion down the well. He glanced back to see that he was not being followed. But when Henry turned his attention back to the path ahead of him, he stopped short when he saw that Shadow Demon was once again blocking the path, and this time he was not alone. Henry saw three of Venger's orcs in human form coming in from all sides, surrounding him.

"Trying to escape from me is futile, Prince Henry," said Shadow Demon. Before Henry could react, Venger's servant grasped his arm firmly. "Now give me the _real _Cavalier Medallion!" Not waiting for a reply, Shadow Demon pulled Henry's backpack off and then he threw the boy to the ground. Seconds later Venger's servant had what he wanted. He stripped off the duct tape and then proceeded to untie it from the brick. Venger's servant smiled as he inspected the Cavalier Medallion. Then the man began to reach for Henry.

"You've got what you wanted," said Henry as he scampered to his feet, backing away from Mr. Damon. "Let me go!"

"Unfortunately, Prince Henry," said Mr. Damon. "My employer _also_ specified that I bring _you _to him, as well."

"No way! And stop calling me "Prince Henry!" I'm just a normal kid!" Again, Henry ran as fast as he could, sprinting for a narrow opening between two of the advancing orcs, barely escaping their grasp. With nowhere else to go, Henry ran up the path back to the Wishing Well. The boy's heart skipped a beat when he realized that someone was standing by the well. But it was not Shadow Demon this time.

Henry felt a rush of relief to see Mr. Gold standing by the well. "Hello, Henry. Is there a problem?"

"Mr. Gold!" said Henry as he ran up to him. Henry pointed back up the trail from where he just came. "Shadow – Mr. Damon - _Talionis' secretary_, is after me! He's already got my friend's medallion and he wants to take me with him as well!"

"Calm down, Henry," said Mr. Gold gently as he put a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder. "You're not alone, now." Henry looked down the trail and saw the three orcs running up to the well. Henry looked up to Mr. Gold, who seemed unnaturally calm as he reached into his jacket, making Henry wonder if the Pawnbroker had brought a gun with him. The orcs must have come to the same conclusion, and they all stopped several yards away from the man and the boy. But when Mr. Gold withdrew his hand from his jacket, instead of a gun, he held up a gold medallion; the same gold medallion decorated with the Archmage and the Shadow Demon that Henry and Kosar saw in his shop a few days before.

"That's quite close enough, boys," said Mr. Gold as he held the medallion over the well. "Take another step forward, and I drop Venger's medallion where he can _never_ get it back!"

"Give us the medallion and the boy, Rumpelstiltskin, or you die!" grunted one of the orcs in human form. Henry blinked. _Rumpelstiltskin?_ Was _that _Mr. Gold's identity back in Fairy Tale Land . . . ?

"No, that's not going to happen," said Mr. Gold evenly. "Oh, I know that you will kill me and take the medallion, regardless. But Venger _cannot_ have Henry Mills. Your Master may _want_ the boy but he needs must have the medallion. So let Henry go free, unharmed, or you can explain to Venger why you have the boy but not the medallion!" The orcs seemed to consider the Pawnbroker's words. Then the one who was obviously the leader grunted to the other two to back away, giving Henry the trail.

"Very well, Imp," growled the leader of the orcs. "But if you drop the medallion down the well after the boy has left, then you die _slow_ . . . ." Mr. Gold replied with a shallow nod.

"T-thanks, Mr. Gold," said Henry sincerely. "Or should I say, Rumpelstiltskin?"

Mr. Gold shook his head. "There is no time for that now, Henry. I'll hold them off as long as I can. But now, you need to run for the Town Hall right away! That's where everyone is right now, including _both_ of your moms!"

"The _Evil Queen_ is not my mom!" spat Henry. "My _real_ mom is Emma Swan!"

"And there is no time for _that_ now, either," snapped Mr. Gold. "Regardless of what you may think of Regina, she _does love you_ and more to the point, she has the ability to _protect_ you and your friend Kosar from Venger! She and Sheriff Emma Swan both!"

Then Henry realized something that he should have noticed sooner. "Wait, you _know_ that Alessandro Talionis is Venger?!"

"Oh, aye," said Mr. Gold nodding grimly. "I know who he is. I also know who your friend's parents are, for that matter. And I know who everyone else here in Storybrooke is, as well. But now is not the time for that, Henry." Mr. Gold lowered his voice, and added, "Go to the Town Hall and tell your mum – Regina - that Venger is bringing _magic_ to Storybrooke! Once he does that, then everyone here will remember their past lives, so it is _extremely_ important that Regina be forewarned! Regina and Emma can protect you and your friend but you must go _now_ to tell them!" Without a moment's hesitation, Henry Mills muttered a heartfelt thanks to Mr. Gold, and took-off running down the trail, heading straight for the Town Hall.

When the boy was gone, the orcs approached Rumpelstiltskin. "You have done well, Dark One," said the leader of the orcs. "Venger will be pleased. But keep note of the time. You must drop the medallion into the well, soon."

"Aye, I know what needs to be done," said Rumpelstiltskin dryly. "Just make sure that your Master knows that he must keep his part of our bargain, too . . . ."

Henry made it to the Storybrooke Town Hall in record time. He knew that the presentation was to be held on the front lawn of the Town Hall because a big turnout had been expected, but the size of the crowd was still a shock. The entire town must be here! Finding Kosar would not be easy, and Henry wondered if it might be better if he found the Evil Queen and Emma, first.

Henry scanned the crowd for Kosar. Even though it was starting to get dark outside, an elaborate lighting system had been set up and there was a full moon in the sky, making the front lawn of the Storybrooke Town Hall a small bubble of daylight. A large stage had been set up for the participants to address the crowd through a speaker system and hundreds of chairs in several rows had been set up to accommodate everyone. Off to the side, a buffet table had been set up. Henry could see Kosar's mom there (no doubt to be sure that Kosar stayed away,) and she was talking with the Evil Queen. Henry shook his head. He wondered what Diana the Acrobat would think if she found out that she was becoming BFF's with the Evil Queen from the story of "Snow White?"

Henry did not know how much time he had left to deliver Rumpelstiltskin's message to the Evil Queen, but he was certain that he did not have long before Venger made his move. He thought about simply going over to the Evil Queen to tell her that "Rumpelstiltskin says that magic is coming!" But Henry could just imagine Regina excusing herself from Kosar's mom as she frog-marched him to one of the rooms inside the Town Hall without paying him any attention. She would then most certainly ask someone to watch him to make sure that he stayed there and Henry would not being able to get in a single word edgewise, much less six words.

Henry shook his head. He would need backup. Someone to keep the Evil Queen's and the Acrobat's attention divided so he would have a chance to deliver the message. Henry needed Kosar, but where in this crowd could his friend be?

Then, as he scanned the crowd, Henry saw a group of kids standing off to the side near the stage and Kosar was among them. When Henry got closer, he recognized Nicholas and Ava Zimmer (AKA Hansel and Gretel,) as well as a girl in his class named Janet Martin, who was there with her seven-year-old sister, Cindy. Henry shook his head. Before Emma had arrived in Storybrooke and time began to move again, Henry remembered being in Second Grade with Cindy when he was seven, too. Henry also knew that the girls had an older sister named Marcia, who Henry would have been classmates with in the Seventh Grade if Emma did not go with him and time in Storybrooke did not start to flow normally.

As Henry got closer to the group, he could hear Kosar talking with the kids about how RealmCorp took advantage of the communities that it established a presence in. Even when Henry was right next to his friend, Kosar was in full Young Activist Mode, and did not realize that he was there. Fortunately, Kosar seemed about finished speaking.

". . . does not help its injured employees. In fact, RealmCorp's Legal Department seems to take pleasure in litigating rather than paying what they owe; even if it might actually be _less_ expensive to honor their responsibilities to their injured employees than going to court. Be sure to tell your parents that!"

The four other kids voiced assent, and began to go back to their own families, but not before Ava said, "Oh! Hi, Henry!"

Nicholas also said hi, and Janet Martin added, "Hey, Henry. I'm glad to see that you could make it, after all. But we gotta go find our mom and big sister, now. I'll see you in class on Monday."

Kosar's head snapped around to his left, and he broke out in a huge eleven-year-old's grin when he saw his friend beside him; an expression that was equal parts excitement and relief. The boys high-fived each other and Kosar said, "You're here!" Then, Kosar nodded in the direction that Janet and Cindy went, and said, "Uh, hey, Henry, are those _girls_ who I _think_ they are . . . ?"

Henry shook his head vigorously. "Nah. I thought the same thing when I first met them. But I checked it out. It's a False alarm. They don't have any brothers or a dad who is an architect. But we don't have any time for that, right now!"

Kosar nodded. "The Cavalier Medallion. Were you able to destroy it?"

Henry sighed. "No. It could not be smashed, cut or melted." Kosar nodded. He thought as much, considering what it represented. Henry continued. "Then I tried to get rid of it by dropping it in the Wishing Well, but that did not work, either." Henry told Kosar about his confrontation with Shadow Demon and some of the Orcs, and how he barely got away himself, were it not for Mr. Gold's assistance. Then Henry told Kosar who Mr. Gold _really_ was and what they had to do to stop Venger.

"We need to tell our moms," said Kosar. "Especially _your _moms. They need to hear what Rumpelstiltskin told you to say; it just might convince them." Henry was about to speak, but Kosar cut him off. "There is no time for _that_, either, Henry. Even if Mayor Regina Mills was Lolth, Demon Queen of Spiders, she is _still_ your adoptive mom. And if Mr. Gold is right, the only way they can protect us – all of us - is if we can get them his message!"

Reluctantly, Henry nodded. If the book was right, then his adoptive mother, the Evil Queen, had caused much suffering in Fairy Tale Land. But here and now, Henry could remember the good times as well; before the strangeness of Storybrooke became more than he could accept without question. He could remember the way she comforted him when he was sick or scared and the way she encouraged him when he was having trouble with his homework. The tasty apple pies she would make for dessert on Sunday nights. _Maybe when the truth about Storybrooke comes out and everyone can see that _I wasn't_ crazy, then things can start to get better . . . ._

Henry said, "I saw your mom talking with . . . _my_ mom near the buffet table not long ago, Kosar. Maybe we should start looking for them there?"

Kosar nodded. "The minute our moms see us, my mom will go ballistic when she sees me approaching the buffet table. That should give you time to tell your mom what Rumpelstiltskin said. Then we both run off to find Sheriff Swan to tell her. My mom may be able to catch me. But I'm betting that you can outrun _either_ of your moms!"

But before the boys could head to the buffet table, Henry saw Shadow Demon and the Orcs that had tried to catch him earlier between them and the buffet table. Fortunately, they were not looking in the boys' direction. Henry quickly pulled Kosar behind the stage and out of their sight. "We'll have to go around the back of the Town Hall, Kosar. We can't let Shadow Demon get me before we can warn our moms!"

Both boys sprinted around the Town Hall, out of sight of the large crowd. When they got to the other side of the building, they knelt on the ground to look around the corner for orcs, and did not see any. What they could see was the buffet table set off to the side and that Regina and Diana were still there, and as a bonus, so was Sheriff Emma Swan. Henry nodded to his friend, and said, "It's now or never!" Kosar nodded back and the boys started to get to their feet to run for their moms. But as they stood they both felt themselves being lifted above the ground by powerful hands, and realized that two orcs had caught them from behind.

"One of us has got to get free to tell them!" said Henry as he struggled to escape. Kosar tried to reply, but could not, and Henry saw why. The orc holding Kosar had put a rag over his face. Then Henry felt a rag press against his own nose and mouth. There was a strong smell of solvent, and the next thing that Henry realized was that he and Kosar were in a small, boxlike cage with a padlocked door. Kosar was leaning against the opposite side of the cage, moaning weakly as he, too, was beginning to regain consciousness. Henry shook his friend's shoulder to help speed the process. "Kosar, wake up! We're locked in a cage!"

Kosar said, "W-what happened, Henry . . . where are we? The last thing that I can remember is someone grabbed me from behind . . . ."

"Venger's orcs got us," said Henry. "They used something on a rag to knock us out." Henry began searching his pockets. His cellphone was gone – he had expected that much, and began looking for something that he could use to pick the lock. He had no idea how to do this, but trying was better than sitting still as they waited for whatever fate the Archmage had planned for them. Henry felt a little hope when he found a large paperclip in his jacket pocket. He straightened it out and stuck it in the keyhole to try to make the lock open. "We gotta get out of here!"

Then a stentorian voice startled the boys. "That is a futile gesture, Prince Henry." Henry and Kosar looked up to see Alessandro Talionis looking down on them. At his side, stood Mr. Damon, who was grinning smugly at the caged boys. Talionis continued, "You will not be able to unlock your cage, and I shall not let you out until we have returned to my home; The Realm of Dungeons and Dragons in the Land of Vibrant Colors."

"W-what are you going to do with us?" said Kosar. "Are you going to kill us?"

"I have better plans for you brats," said the tall, pale man. "When we return to The Realm, I shall make you both my apprentices in the art of Dark Magic. And when you are older – if you _survive_ the training – you shall serve me as my Viceroys, and help me maintain order in my ever-expanding Empire!"

"No way!" spat Henry. "We'll never serve you! We'll never be evil!"

"Y-you're not going to get away with this," said Kosar with as much bravado as he could muster. "You'll be in a lot of _trouble_ when my family finds out that you kidnapped us; especially my _mother_!"

"And that goes _double_ for me!" added Henry.

Talionis smiled. "I do not fear the Evil Queen, Prince Henry; much less the daughter of "Prince" Charming and Snow White. In fact, I am _counting_ on Princess Emma to try to rescue you. And in the end, I shall have my vengeance against the Charmings as well as the Evil Queen and Dungeon Master's former pupils."

"We'll see about that!" said Kosar. Then he yelled, "MOM! DAD! TALIONIS HAS ME AND HENRY AND –" But before Kosar could continue, he realized that Venger and Shadow Demon were laughing.

Talionis said, "Yes, son of the Cavalier and the Acrobat. Call for help. Neither of your voices may be heard over the din of the crowd. But do not worry. Soon, all assembled shall know that you and Prince Henry are my captives. Alas, too late to attempt a rescue . . . ."

Alessandro Talionis allowed himself a slight grin as he saw both boys frightened and on the verge of tears. Then he turned to Mr. Damon and said, "All is prepared, Shadow Demon. We have all that we need for our return home. And as a bonus, I shall have my final revenge against Dungeon Master's former "Pupils," as well as against the Evil Queen, the Shepard Boy Pretender and Snow White."

Henry fought back tears. "What have Prince Charming and Snow White ever done to you?"

"Perhaps nothing, Prince Henry," said Venger grimly. "Perhaps more than you can imagine." The Archmage then turned to Shadow Demon. "You still have yet to find Maleficent?"

"I have searched all of Storybrooke, Master. She is nowhere to be found. She was not in the Library, as the Evil Queen had said. Nor do I see her in the assembled crowd." Venger nodded solemnly. Shadow Demon continued in a conciliatory voice. "Master, perhaps the rumors of Maleficent's spawning are just that; merely rumors. I do not believe that either Ursula or Cruella may be trusted – they have their _own_ agenda! And surely Maleficent would have _told_ you if she thought that you were –"

Venger held up his hand and Shadow Demon was silent. "Perhaps, Shadow Demon. But this is a matter of honor for me. And if I am unable to converse with Maleficent to be certain, I must proceed under the assumption that I am indeed the father of her stolen child – our stolen child; and act accordingly to avenge us all . . . ."

Venger and Shadow Demon left the boys, passing through the opening of a curtain. It was then that Henry realized that the cage was set up behind the stage curtain. Moments later, a voice that Henry recognized as Dr. Hopper's came over the loudspeaker telling the crowd that the presentation was about to begin and that they should take their seats.

Kosar sighed and said, "W-we failed, Henry. Venger won . . . ."

Henry shook his head. "No, we still have a chance! I have to _believe_ that! I don't know how things work in Saturday Morning Cartoons, Kosar. But in _Fairytales_, things always look their worst for the heroes before they get better! And I can't imagine things being any worse than they are now! We just have to hold on to _hope_!"

Over the loudspeaker, the boys could hear Alessandro Talionis, CEO of RealmCorp, begin his presentation.

And by the Wishing Well, Rumpelstiltskin stood, holding the Archmage Medallion over the well as he kept his attention on the watch in his other hand. It would be 8:15 pm, soon . . . .


	13. True Identities

**Chapter 13: True Identities**

The buffet spread set-out by Granny's Diner looked absolutely delicious, but Diana Montgomery's will-power was legendary. She took a small plate of fresh fruit and vegetables along with a few hors d'oeuvres, just to be polite (besides, they _were_ delicious!) But she knew that she would have to pay for her splurging the next day with smaller portions and more time spent working out. Her husband, Eric, was being a bit more "polite," though, and had a full plate; but he was blessed with a fast metabolism (Eric liked to joke that he had the "fuel economy" of a 1950's Chrysler and Diana had that of a 2012 Toyota Prius.) Unfortunately, their son's metabolism took more after his mother's and Kosar could gain a pound or two just by _thinking_ about the food on the spread.

Before they arrived at the Storybrooke Town Hall for the presentation, Eric and Diana Laid Down the Law to their son regarding the buffet. Kosar would keep away from the spread and his mom and dad would prepare a small plate for him to enjoy when the presentation was over – hopefully, as a celebration of success against Mr. Talionis' latest attempt to take advantage of yet another innocent small town. And the stakes were never higher; especially now that Storybrooke was to be their family's new home.

Fortunately, the presentation's younger attendees chose to congregate on the other side of the Town Hall lawn, away from the adults (and which, as an added bonus, was upwind from the buffet table.) That was where Kosar had been assigned to work; to answer any questions asked by the attendees who were under eighteen. Diana reflected that her son was barely a few months away from his eleventh birthday, and already Kosar was a seasoned veteran of nearly a dozen such presentations in their never-ending crusade against RealmCorp and Alessandro Talionis.

Diana sighed. Because their activism required a lot of travel, Kosar had been in almost as many schools as he had been in grade levels with a stretch or two of homeschooling thrown in for good measure. Under conditions like these, Kosar was not able to make any real, lasting friendships as he went from school to school, not knowing if his family would be moving yet again at a moment's notice. Because of this, Eric tried to fill the role of Best Friend as well as Father. And in truth, Kosar did seem more comfortable in the company of adults than he did with children his own age. The main drawback of this arrangement was that it left Diana as the disciplinarian of the family; a role that she accepted as stoically as any other.

It was hard on her family, but what they were doing was _important_, Diana reminded herself. If not for us, RealmCorp would run roughshod over the entire country if not the entire world. Someone had to stand up to Talionis. For better or for worse, they were the ones chosen for the task. And while Diana had been more than willing to accept the discipline and hardship that this calling required, she had been feeling guilt lately about imposing this roustabout lifestyle on her son. More to the point, while Eric tried his best to be Kosar's best friend as well as his father, Diana knew that her son needed to be with kids his own age.

Alessandro Talionis needed to be opposed, stood up to. But Kosar needed the stability of a more typical childhood. So last night, Diana and Eric spoke with the others and then did something that they had all been contemplating for several years, and contacted the person who had originally organized their "Activist Cell." To their relief, the enigmatic head of the group opposing RealmCorp, a man known to them only as "Gary," (presumably for security reasons,) said that others would be available to fill their places as "Field Agents." They could then assume a "Support Role" for the group that would allow them to finally settle down. And they planned to make Storybrooke their home for this purpose. All the more reason for the town to be defended with everything that they had . . . .

For the past half-hour, Diana had been discussing last-minute strategy with Mayor Regina Mills; a task that Diana found to be as enjoyable as it was important. Over the past several days, she and Regina had bonded as only two mothers of children with "issues" could. As they spoke, they were briefly interrupted by Sheriff Emma Swan who wanted to discuss some security concerns with the Mayor.

Regina's pleasant demeanor with Diana quickly changed to near hostility during the brief time the Mayor spoke with the Sheriff. In Diana's eyes, this was not only understandable, but entirely justified. Given the fact that Emma Swan had given Henry up for adoption (a Closed Adoption at that!) almost eleven years ago and was now trying to force her way back into Henry's and Regina's lives; the unfailingly polite Diana felt that Regina's vitriol was more than appropriate. One of the first things that Diana intended to do after RealmCorp was finally out of Storybrooke would be to assist Regina legally in the event that Ms. Swan tried to challenge Henry's adoption.

But the conversation was quickly over and Sheriff Swan went away to the parting words from Regina that she should, "Do your job, Sheriff!" But regardless, Diana's final strategy session with Regina was almost finished, anyway, and Regina continued conversing with Diana as though the interruption by Emma Swan never happened.

Diana checked her watch. The presentation would begin in less than twenty minutes. So Diana took advantage of the calm before the storm to speak with Regina about coordinating a Treatment Plan for their boys after all the drama with RealmCorp was over. Normally she and Sheila would get caught up with each other during times like these. But Sheila, Hank and the others were working the crowd, who had a lot of questions about why they should reject RealmCorp's offer of promised jobs and prosperity and the chance to live happily ever after.

As the two women spoke, Regina was impressed with how much she and Diana were on the same wavelength regarding their boys' treatment plan. It only took them ten minutes to decide on the particulars. They would speak with Dr. Hopper for his input the first thing Monday morning. Then the conversation segued into other, more pleasant topics . . . .

"So, Regina," said Diana with a somewhat toned-down version of her trademarked, mischievous smile. "How are things with you and Presto going . . . ?"

Diana's smile broadened when Regina also smiled and blushed like a teenage girl at the mention of the group's resident Tech Support (and sometimes Hacker.) "Well, you understand that we - we are _Just Friends_ at this time . . . ."

"But . . . ," said Diana, her smile growing.

"But . . . I think that it can _possibly_ become something _more_, over time." Regina shrugged. "I've never met _anyone_ quite like Russ before. There is something about him that is almost . . . magical; I can't put my finger on it. Now, you understand that he is not normally my "type." Normally, I go for the "rugged outdoorsman," if you know what I mean. But in Russ' case, I just may –"

"Hello, Diana," said a soft voice from off to the side. Both women turned to see a short, grey-haired man in jeans, sandals and a tie-dyed shirt with a matching headband.

Diana smiled at the old hippie, and said, "Hello Gary. I'm glad that you could come. May I introduce you to Storybrooke's Mayor, Regina Mills? Regina, this is Gary. He does not use a last name, for security reasons. But he is the, I guess you could say, the "organizer" of our small activist group."

"Regina Mills," said Gary with a pleasant smile. "I have heard of you . . . ."

"You have?" said Regina raising an eyebrow. "And where would you have heard of me? Have we met, before? You look . . . vaguely familiar . . . ."

Before Gary could say answer, Dr. Hopper's voice came over the loudspeaker, letting everyone know that the presentation was about to begin. As the people in attendance began to take their seats, Diana and Regina agreed to continue the conversation later, with Sheila there to bring her into the loop.

Now they took their own seats on the stage, bracing themselves for what would undoubtedly be the fight for Storybrooke's future. They were soon joined by Eric, Hank, Sheila, Presto and Bob, who all said "hello" to Gary, as they took their own places. Diana gave Regina a quick "thumbs up" when she saw Presto take the seat next to her. But the seat between her and her husband – the one they reserved for Kosar, was still empty. Quickly, Diana glanced over at the buffet table, relieved to see that her son was not there. Then she looked over the crowd, and still did not see him.

_Kosar probably just went to the bathroom, or something, _thought Diana_._ She glanced over to Eric, and saw that he was scanning the crowd for their son, too. _Or maybe he borrowed one of the other kids' cellphones, and went somewhere to call Henry._ As soon as the last thought came unbidden into her mind, Diana brushed it aside, feeling guilty that she even considered that as a possibility. Kosar was a good boy, who was respectful and did what he was told, for the most part. But this is the first time that he had a friend his own age in a very long time. Despite his instructions to the contrary, the temptation to contact Henry must be overwhelming.

Diana wished there was another way. True, Henry Mills seemed like a good kid; she had no doubt that his mother raised him right. But Regina's son had issues that, for better or worse, were not too different from Kosar's own fantasy world-view. Maybe it was fated that she and Eric had met Regina Mills and planned to settle in Storybrooke, permanently. Maybe by working together, the Montgomerys and Regina could help their boys leave the fantasy worlds that they had intricately constructed behind and then have a real life as friends. But until then, the boys would have to be watched _very_ carefully . . . .

Again, Diana checked her watch. It was about ten after eight. The buzz of the crowd died down, and Diana watched warily as Alessandro Talionis came from behind the curtain on the stage accompanied by his personal Secretary, the ever-present Mr. Damon, and approached the microphone as he prepared to address the crowd. As the CEO of RealmCorp stood in front of the mic, he glanced over at the group of activists and Mayor Mills. Diana had been through this part dozens, if not hundreds of times over the past 28 years. But this time was somehow different than the other, past times. Instead of the confident, contemptuous stare that he normally wore for such occasions, the instant the CEO's eyes met Gary's, Talionis betrayed a look of . . . what? Surprise . . . ? Shock . . . ? Maybe even – dare Diana think it – worry? Or possibly . . . dread?

Diana glanced quickly over to where Gary was sitting, whose own expression was calm as he returned Talionis' dagger-stare with a perfect poker-face. Diana then suddenly realized why this time was different. Thinking back, she could not recall _any_ earlier confrontation with Alessandro Talionis and RealmCorp - be it in a public venue as they were now, at a televised interview, or a courtroom - where the mysteriously Gary had been there with them. In the past, their meetings with Gary had been brief affairs where he gave the group its instructions and marching orders in the never-ending battle against the power hungry, avaricious and sociopathic Alessandro Talionis. Diana blinked. If nothing else, this presentation should prove interesting . . . .

Behind the curtain on the stage, Henry Mills worked frantically at the lock. He had broken the paperclip into two pieces and tried to work each one the way he had seen Emma pick a padlock. "It's all about the tumblers," she had told him triumphantly when the lock she was picking popped open. But Henry could barely get the paperclip wires through the keyhole. It was then that Henry noticed that the shackle was actually part of the lock's body, and gave up. The lock could not be picked because it had nothing to pick. Henry sighed as he sat with his back to the bars. And then, Henry remembered something important. But before he could say anything, Kosar spoke first.

"Maybe we can't get out of this cage," said Kosar. "But Old Horn-Head can't keep us in here, forever. We may have to wait until we are actually in The Realm of Dungeons and Dragons, and then escape from him there when he is distracted. I mean, we are older than Uncle Bob was when _he_ was there, and not that much younger than Uncle Presto. If they could survive there, so can we. And unlike them, we have an advantage; we've seen every episode of the show, so we know what to expect when we get there!

"Our first stop should be the Dragon's Graveyard. If nothing else, we will need Weapons of Power to defend ourselves."

"Or not," said Henry with a big smile that caught Kosar off guard. "We might not be able to get out of this cage, Kosar. But I almost forgot that we don't have to. I was so set on picking that lock that I almost forgot _where_ we are and even _who_ we are! We are in Fairy Tale Land, or at the very least, _with_ people from Fairy Tale Land, and we are going to be rescued! I have to believe that! We just got to be ready to hustle when the rescue does come!"

Kosar nodded. Things worked that way in Saturday Morning Cartoons, as well. Kosar met Henry's smile with one of his own. He and his best friend were about to have an adventure!

Kosar said, "So, Henry, are you absolutely certain that Janet and her sisters aren't you-know-who I think they are . . . ?"

"Kosar, if I thought for one minute that Janet's older sister was THE Marcia Brady; don't you think that I would have waited until I was her age and in her class at school before I even thought about finding Emma to come to Storybrooke and get time moving again?"

"It's what I would have done, too, Bro!" But Henry's eyes went wide as he pointed to the end of the stage. Kosar turned and gasped as he saw a thick red and black cloud rolling down on them. "What is it, Henry?"

"Our cue to get ready!" said Henry. "Things are about to get interesting . . . ."

At the microphone on the stage, Alessandro Talionis, CEO of RealmCorp began his announcement. His voice was so powerful, that the microphone almost seemed superfluous. "People of Storybrooke, I came to your town to offer you a better future. Your Mayor -," he indicated Regina sitting to his right, "- and her "allies," do not want you to have this. But you shall have it, despite their futile interference. BEHOLD . . . !"

Talionis pointed to the sky to the side of the audience, and their collective gasp sounded like distant thunder. In the sky above them was a thick cloud of red and black smoke rolling toward them. It was then that the audience noticed that the cloud seemed to be coming in from every direction.

Diana rounded to Alessandro Talionis, and said, "Did one of your nearby chemical factories have an _accident_, Mr. Talionis?"

But the CEO of RealmCorp ignored her, and continued to address the audience. "PEOPLE OF STORYBROOKE! I GIVE YOU YOUR PROMISED BETTER FUTURE BY RESTORING YOUR STOLEN PASTS! THIS, I GIVE TO YOU, AND MORE! FOR I ALSO GIVE YOU SHE WHO STOLE YOUR PASTS AND YOUR RIGHTFUL HAPPINESS." Alessandro Talionis pointed an accusing finger toward Mayor Regina Mills, and said, "WHEN THE MAGIC COMES, MAKE READY TO SEIZE _THE EVIL QUEEN_!"

The audience murmured with a mixture of fear and puzzlement as the seething red and black cloud surrounded them – they had no time to do anything else. The cloud then dissipated as quickly as it came, and things were different . . . .

The people of Storybrooke felt dazed as though they had awakened from a very long sleep, frozen in place as their minds struggled to reconcile two different identities when who they were born as comingled with who they had been transformed into for the past 28 years.

Adding to their confusion, everyone realized that their minds were not the only thing affected by the red and black smoke. Everyone attending the presentation (with the notable exception of Sheriff Emma Swan,) found themselves wearing clothing that would not look out of place during the Late Middle Ages or Early Renaissance.

Even the out-of-town activists' clothes had transformed. On the stage, Regina noticed that Presto was wearing green wizard's robes and on her other side, Diana was wearing . . . well . . . something more suited for Brooklyn Decker on a photo shoot than an Attorney at Law making a presentation. Then Regina noticed what she was wearing, herself – her favorite black and burgundy dress that revealed an ample display of cleavage, complete with its matching hat. And it did not take Regina long to figure out what had happened and who was responsible.

The Evil Queen locked eyes with the tall, pale warlock at the podium, and he regarded her with a look of sadistic triumph. "Greetings, Evil Queen. We meet again."

Diana blinked. She was remembering everything. "R-Regina? YOU are the _Evil Queen_ . . . ?"

Regina ignored Diana, and said, "Well met, Venger." Regina gestured around her. "How?"

"That does not matter, Regina. What matters is that now you shall pay dearly for the indignities that you have inflicted upon me and my servants!"

From behind Venger, the former Shad Damon, now Shadow Demon, peeked out, and said, "Thank you, Master! I could not have endured that solid form for very much longer!"

"Indignities?" snapped Regina. "I warned you, Venger! I told you that I was about to cast the Dark Curse! But you overstayed your welcome! Did I not say that if my curse touched you that you had nobody to blame but yourself . . . ?"

In the audience, some were able to come to their senses quicker than others. One of them was Leroy, who now remembered that he was actually Grumpy the Dwarf. Shaking the fog from his mind, he pointed to the stage, and said, "EVERYBODY LOOK! IT'S THE EVIL QUEEN! AND SHE IS WITH _VENGER_, THE FORCE OF EVIL FROM THE LAND OF VIBRANT COLORS! THEY ARE WORKING TOGETHER!"

"N-no," said Regina. She turned to Diana, and said, "I am _not_ in league with Venger! He was not supposed to be here!"

"WELL, NEITHER ARE _WE_, SISTER!" spat Leroy. "BUT HERE WE ARE, THANKS TO YOUR DARK CURSE!"

"DON"T BE AN IDIOT, DWARF!" exclaimed Regina. "VENGER HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS!"

"The Evil Queen speaks the truth, dwarf," said Venger, his voice booming over those in the audience, snapping them to attention. "I am as much a victim of Regina's Dark Curse as are you! I have no quarrel with the people of the Enchanted Forest! I only seek a way back to my home, my Realm of Dungeons and Dragons. I shall not harm anyone who does not stand in my way! Now, SEIZE THE EVIL QUEEN! SHE MUST NOT BE ALLOWED TO INTERFERE WITH MY PLANS!"

As the people in the front rows mounted the stage to restrain Regina, Eric Montgomery took his wife's hand, met Venger's eyes, and said, "Where is our son? Where is Kosar . . . ?"

But as this had been going on, a separate scene was unfolding in the audience. For the moment the red and black smoke dissipated, two people from opposite sides of the aisle noticed each other, and were instantly oblivious to all else around them. Mary Margaret Blanchard stood from her seat and surveyed her surroundings. As she did, her eyes met with a man sitting on the other side of the aisle, and no introductions were necessary. "CHARMING!"

"SNOW!" exclaimed the man as he waded through a shallow sea of legs to make it to the center of the aisle and Mary Margaret did the same. They met in the middle and embraced, still oblivious to all else around them. "Snow! I found you! I knew that I would find you! I will ALWAYS find you!"

"And I will always find you, Charming!"

"How sickeningly touching . . . ," said a stentorian voice from the front of the stage that caught the attention of everyone present. "When I first came to this pathetic, insignificant town, I sought only to return home to my Realm and avenge myself against the Evil Queen. But now, I see that I shall also be able to exact revenge against the two of you, as well . . . ."

David and Mary Margaret turned their attention to the stage and immediately noticed the tall, pale warlock from the Land of Vibrant Colors, resplendent in his winged robes and a headdress adorned with a single horn, and who was accompanied by his living shadow servant. They also saw Regina – the Evil Queen - who was being restrained by several people, keeping her from performing any gestures that would allow her to do magic as the people new to town watched in shock.

Simultaneously, David and Mary Margaret said, "VENGER . . . ?!"

Mary Margaret sighed as yet another reunion with her True Love was cruelly cut short. She shook her head and looked into David's eyes as she said, "_Really_ . . . ?"

"Oh, it's not too surprising when you think about it, Snow," said David adamantly. "I mean, what is so hard to believe about Venger and Regina working together?"

"WE ARE NOT WORKING TOGETHER, YOU IDIOT CHARMINGS!" yelled Regina. "WEREN'T YOU TWO PAYING ANY ATTENTION?"

But before Charming or Snow could respond, Diana rounded to Venger and said, "Where is my son? What have you done with him?"

Eric added, "No more games, Horn-Head! This isn't The Realm! Where is Kosar?"

The pale warlock smiled – an ugly smile made even uglier when displayed on his noseless, fanged face. "Your son is safe, for the moment . . . as is his friend, Prince Henry . . . ." With a simple gesture, Venger made the curtain serving as a backdrop on the stage vanish, revealing the cage that Venger had Kosar Montgomery and Henry Mills imprisoned.

Eric, Diana, and the other former Young Ones gasped. Regina struggled against those who restrained her, and screamed, "LET ME GO, YOU MORONS! I'M THE ONLY ONE HERE WHO CAN FORCE VENGER TO FREE MY SON AND HIS FRIEND!"

"Do not interfere," said Venger. "When I return to my Realm, these brats will come with me as payment for what their parents have done to me and a close friend! As I say, I have no quarrel with the people of Storybrooke. But if you stand against me that shall change . . . ."

"HEY, YOU!" came a voice from the center aisle. Venger rounded to the voice and saw Sheriff Emma Swan. "I'm not from Storybrooke. So, not only are you going to release my son and his friend, you will not harm anyone here!"

"MOM!" said Henry as he and Kosar grabbed the bars of their cage. "Get us out of here!"

"I'm working on it, kid. You heard the boy, Venger! Let them go!"

"Do not interfere, daughter of Prince Charming and Snow White, or face my wrath!"

"Sorry it had to come to this," said Emma. She drew her 9mm automatic from her shoulder holster and fired three double-taps in rapid fire succession at the Archmage, who promptly deflected all six shots before a contemptuous wave of his hand made the pistol fly out of Emma's grip. "Seriously . . . ?" _Just my luck that he saw "The Empire Strikes Back,"_ thought Emma.

But before Venger could do anything else, another voice caught him off-guard. "LET THOSE LITTLE BOYS GO!"

Venger scowled at the old, grey haired woman who pointed a crossbow at him. "Nobody will stop you from leaving, but the boys stay here!" Granny Lucas fired the crossbow, but Venger caught the bolt and made it vanish before blasting the old woman with a burst of magic that sent her flying ten feet backward and into the first row of chairs.

"GRANDMA!" Ruby ran over to where her grandmother had landed, relieved to see that she was not hurt seriously. After helping the old woman to her feet, Ruby then turned to face Venger. She could feel the effects of the full moon – _Wolf's Time_. Ruby smiled at the Archmage; a smile that was one part sarcastically sweet and one part viciously predatory, and said, "Hey, big tipper. You wanna see my impression of Taylor Lautner on "_Twilight_?" Ruby started to reach for the hood of her cloak with both hands. But before she could remove it, her grandmother said, "Ruby, NO!"

"Listen to your grandmother, _wench_!" said Venger. None of you can help these boys! They are mine! Now, return to your homes! I shall begin casting the spell that will allow me to return to my Realm, but know this: If anyone attempts to interfere with me, they shall face my wrath. Orcs! Gather to me!"

Emma Swan gasped as she saw that the men Venger brought with him were no longer men. In the place of the rough men in suits were even rougher looking creatures that seemed to be a cross between a gorilla and a pig dressed in metal and leather armor. The creatures forced the now grown Young Ones and the Storybrookers who were restraining Regina off of the stage and back to where everyone else was. Then they formed a line between Venger and the boys on the stage and everyone else in the audience, keeping them back. Emma looked up at the stage and her eyes met Henry's. Though Emma knew that her face was a mask of worry, she could see that her son's expression was unexpectedly calm. No, thought Emma, not calm; faithful. The look on Henry's face expressed faith that everything would be alright. Emma nodded to her son and Henry smiled because he knew that she understood the situation.

Emma then ran over to where Kosar's parents were with Regina and David Nolan and Mary-Margaret Blanchard. Regina, still being restrained, said, "You have to let me go! I am the only one here who can face Venger in a magical duel! We have to get my son and his friend back before we lose them forever!"

"Yeah," said Leroy. "As if we can ever trust the Evil Queen!"

Regina turned to Diana, and said, "You know that I am right! Tell them to let me go!"

Diana said, "Just tell me this, Regina. When were you planning on actually telling us who you really were?"

"Or me," said Presto. "I can't believe that I was about to ask the _Evil Queen_ out on a date . . . ."

"Never," snorted Regina. "Besides, would any of you have believed me if I told you?"

"Fair enough," conceded Diana as more of her memories began to return. "And whatever else you may have done, your curse did allow us to finally return to our home."

Eric added, "But now Venger wants to take our sons with him back to The Realm."

"We have to stop him," said Sheila. "And if working with Regina is our only way then we have to do it!"

"Well spoken, Thief." Everyone rounded to the small, white-haired man dressed in a red robe.

Simultaneously, the now grown Young Ones said, "Dungeon Master." The man nodded solemnly.

Eric stepped forward and said, "Alright, now you've gone too far!" The Cavalier pointed to the cage next to Venger. "That is _our son_ up there! He is no part of this! Make Venger give him and his friend back to us! Then he may leave, and good riddance!"

"Please, Dungeon Master," said Diana. "Kosar and Henry are just little kids!"

"As were you and your friends, Acrobat," said Dungeon Master all too calmly. "And yet, the six of you were able to constantly best Venger when you were barely older than your children are now. This time is no different."

"Yes, it is!" said Hank firmly. "We are _through_ playing games for you and Venger! It's _over_! We are home! We have our lives back! Now I know that you are able to do magic, so teleport our children safely back to us!"

"Alas, Ranger, I cannot."

"Why not?" said Rob impatiently.

"For the moment, let us just say that I am not . . . I am not _permitted_ to assist you directly," said Dungeon Master. "But, as in The Realm, you do not need my assistance; only my advice and direction.

"My advice to you, my No-Longer Young Ones, is to work together. Both of Henry's mothers have a part to play in the boys' rescue, but they cannot do it alone. And one of your number has the ability within them to empower the others . . . ."

"What is that supposed to mean?" said Sheila desperately.

"And how are we supposed to do anything without our Weapons of Power?" added Rob.

"Your weapons are here, Barbarian," said Dungeon Master. "In the form of the medallions that I presented you with when you first arrived in this world. Though over the years, they have been stolen by Venger and his agents. But now that magic has been brought back to Storybrooke; they are no longer mere medallions, anymore. Look . . . ."

Everyone turned their attention to where Venger was conjuring a portal on the stage that would take him back to The Realm. In front of him in a pile were the Weapons of Power that Dungeon Master had presented them with upon their arrival in The Realm of Dungeons and Dragons twenty eight years ago.

Diana said, "And just how are we supposed to get them back from Venger, Dungeon Master? Dungeon Master . . . ?" Everyone looked around quickly, but the small man was nowhere to be seen.

"Now why did I know that he would do that?!" said Eric bitterly.

"But what Dungeon Master says is right," said Regina. "We have to work together to rescue our boys. And no matter what you think of me, believe me when I say that my ONLY concern is for the safety of my son and his friend!"

Presto nodded and said, "We have to do this, guys. It's the only way to rescue Kosar and Henry. And I think that I can get our Weapons of Power back." Keeping his back to the stage so Venger could not see, Presto held his hand palm upward, and a small ball of fire appeared above it. "That is what Dungeon Master meant when he said that one of us is able to empower the rest. I don't _need_ my hat. I can do magic _without_ it, now that we are in a place where magic exists!"

Hank nodded and turned to the townspeople restraining Regina, and said, "Let her go. She needs to help us."

"NO!" said Leroy. "We can't trust the Evil Queen! She's responsible for us being here!"

"You heard Dungeon Master," said Diana with a touch of desperation. "We _need _Regina's help to get my son and Henry back from Venger! And if there is even the slightest chance that she can do that, then I want her by our side, no matter what she has done in the past!"

"Please do as my wife says," added Eric putting his arm around her. "Whatever beef you have with Regina can wait. Our son and his friend cannot. We will not permit Venger to take them with him back to his Realm!"

Regina added, "And in the event that I should survive my battle with Venger, then what is left of me will be yours to do with as you see fit. Anything that you will do to me will be a small price to pay for the safety of Henry and Kosar."

After what seemed like an eternity, Leroy nodded to the ones restraining the Evil Queen and Regina was set free. "Thank you," said Regina sincerely. "Now we need to get our sons and your weapons away from Venger so I can give him a little lesson in manners."

Mary-Margaret said, "We aren't exactly unarmed. Look . . . ." Everyone blinked. With their attention focused on Regina and Venger, nobody noticed that both Mary-Margaret and David were both packin' – not guns; but Mary Margaret had a bow and a quiver full of arrows and David had a sword.

Emma said, "I hope those work better on Venger than my gun did."

For a moment, Mary-Margaret and David looked at Emma and smiled. "Look at you . . . ," said Mary-Margaret softly. "Oh, Charming, our little girl all grown up . . . ."

"So Henry was right about that," said Emma. "And apparently, he was right about a lot of other things as well."

Diana nodded solemnly. "And so was our son. Oh, Eric, why didn't we just listen to Kosar? Would it really have hurt us to watch that stupid "Dungeons and Dragons" DVD with him?"

"Don't be too hard on yourselves," said Regina. "Even if you were not affected by the Dark Curse, would you have believed Kosar if he told you that you were all characters from a Saturday Morning Cartoon?

"And at the very least, you were sincerely concerned for your son's mental health. In my case, I actually knew that Henry had discovered the truth. But I – I _gaslighted_ him into thinking that he was just imagining things . . . ."

"Way to go, Mommie Dearest," said Eric dryly.

"Not _now_, Eric!" said Diana. "We need a plan to rescue our son and his friend before Venger can finish creating his portal!"

Sheila looked down at her outfit with its shorter-than-short skirt, and said, "I don't suppose that we have any time to change into something a little more . . . _practical_ for fighting an evil wizard, do we?"

"Probably not," said Diana, who was feeling goosebumps all over from the chilly, New England autumn. "I mean, I'd rather not go into battle dressed like Raquel Welch from that dinosaur movie she was in. But at least we can _move_ freely in these outfits. I'm not so sure about Regina in what she's got on, though . . . ."

For a moment Diana and Regina stared at each other's outfits in disbelief; Diana in a bikini and boots made out of animal fur, and Regina in a regal (albeit somewhat skanky) black and burgundy dress that had a severely plunging neckline.

Regina spoke first. "So, what's with the _fur bikini_, Beyoncé? Don't tell me that you _actually_ fought Venger for three years dressed in _that _outfit . . . ?"

"And what about _your dress_, J. Lo?" Diana shot back, nodding to Regina's cleavage-baring neckline. "That's not something you wear to fight an evil wizard, Regina. That's something you might wear for . . . _for getting open-heart surgery!_"

Regina's smile was pure evil when she replied, "Oh, I'm _not _planning to _get_ open-heart surgery, Diana; I'm planning to _perform_ it! And _Venger_ will have the honor of being my _patient_!"

"So what do we do, now?" said Diana, getting back to the matter at hand.

"First, we get our sons to safety," said Regina. She then turned to Sheriff Swan and said, "Emma, I want you to take my . . . _OUR_ son; I want you to take _our_ son and Kosar as far away from here as possible."

"What are you talking about?" said Emma. "You'll need me here! I'm the Sheriff!"

"What I _need_ is for you to get the boys safely away from Storybrooke! Get them over the town line, past the enchantment _barrier _and as far away from here as you can! That's our only possible hope to keep Henry and Kosar safe!

"Besides, if I . . . if I fall in battle with Venger," Regina nodded in the direction of the angry townspeople, "and even if Venger doesn't kill me, Henry should have at least one . . . parent to look after him . . . ."

Hank said, "Maybe Diana or Eric should go with you, too; to be with Kosar for the same reason." Sheila, Presto and Rob all nodded in agreement.

But Diana shook her head and said, "You'll need me here to help take down Venger!"

"My place is here, also," said Eric. "We have to buy Sheriff Swan the time she needs to get Kosar and Henry to safety when Horn Head starts working his mojo. But I think that of the two of us, you should be the one to go with Kosar, Diana. If worst comes to worst, he should have at least ONE parent, like Henry. The _better_ parent . . . ."

"No way, Eric!" said Diana. "You're way closer to him than I am! Our son needs his _father_!"

"Yeah, well, you know what a lousy cook I am," Eric shot back. "I'll probably be taking him out to dinner every night to all-you-can-eat buffets, pizza parlors and Chinese restaurants! If you don't want him tipping the scales at over 200 by the time he starts Seventh Grade, then you had _better_ be the one who stay with him!"

"Oh, you know that that's not going to happen!" said Diana. "Because if I stay; I'll make him work out every night! I'll run him ragged until he has only about 2% body-fat when he starts Seventh Grade!"

"Will you two shut up!" said Regina firmly. "As interesting as this "my-spouse-is-the-better-parent," argument may be we _still_ have an _Evil Wizard_ to defeat.

"Besides," added Regina softly, "I don't think that _any_ of you will be able to leave Storybrooke, now that you are here."

"What do you mean by that?" said Sheila.

"I didn't want to say this earlier, because I wasn't sure until now," said Regina. "But I don't think that you and your friends are actually from _this_ world. I think that you are originally from _my_ world; from a Realm called, "The Land of Vibrant Colors." If Diana or Eric or _any_ of you try to leave with Swan, Henry and Kosar, the barrier surrounding Storybrooke will stop you."

"My new car breaking down just before I was about to leave the town," said Bob thoughtfully. "_That's_ why I couldn't pick up Terri from the airport. And that's why she couldn't find Storybrooke on her own! _Terri_ is from _this_ world . . . !"

"B-but _we_ came _into_ Storybrooke without any trouble," said Sheila, taking Hank's hand. "We just can't be . . . _c-cartoon characters_!"

"And we've lived all the way over on the West Coast for more than 20 years since we got back from The Realm; far away from Storybrooke!" said Presto. "How could we have done _that_ if we are just characters from a Saturday Morning cartoon?"

"And what makes you think that Kosar will have any better chance to get out of Storybrooke if we can't?" added Rob.

"I don't have all the answers," said Regina impatiently. "But I believe that Kosar _will_ be able to leave because he is like Henry. They are not _from_ our world; they were born _here_. The rules that apply to us do not apply to the _natives _of this world!" _Like poor little Owen Flynn . . . ,_ thought Regina. _If _he_ could safely cross the barrier unharmed and keep his memories, then _Kosar should _be able to do it, as well . . . ._

"But what about Sheriff Swan?" said Sheila. "Won't the barrier stop _her_?"

"No," said Regina. "Emma is . . . a _special_ case. She's been in and out of Storybrooke before."

"Sounds like a plan," said Hank. "Now, how do we get Kosar and Henry away from Venger?" The Ranger looked toward the cage where the boys were trapped on the stage with the line of orcs between them and the boys.

But before Hank could say any more, a young boy came up to him, and said, "Henry and Kosar will be free from Venger, soon, Mr. Grayson." He then went over to Sheriff Swan and handed her his cellphone. "My sister wants to talk to you . . . ."

And as this was going on, nobody noticed that a statuesque blonde woman in a flowing white dress quietly slipping away from the crowd, fervently praying that Venger had not noticed her.


	14. Children's Crusade

**Chapter 14: Children's Crusade**

Nicolas "Hansel" Zimmer handed the cellphone to Emma. Before Emma could say anything, the person on the other end said, "I'm going to get Kosar and Henry out of that cage, Sheriff Swan. Be ready to get them to safety the moment that I do it." The voice was that of a young girl. And it did not take Emma long to figure out who it was, considering who gave her the phone in the first place. "Ava?" said Emma. "Or do you prefer "Gretel," now?"

"Either one is fine," said the girl impatiently. "Just keep Venger distracted long enough for me to move in unnoticed. Let's see how Venger's cage of mithril, or whatever it is, holds up against the _titanium_ bolt-cutters from my dad's garage!"

As Gretel spoke, Emma casually looked around and caught sight of the girl hiding behind an overturned table, ready to move from behind the line of orcs toward the boys' cage. "Get out of there, Gretel; it's too dangerous!"

"It's the only way!" insisted Gretel. "My brother and I overheard your plan to get Kosar and your son past the town line. Just be ready to move after I get them out of Venger's cage!"

"Gretel, listen to me . . . ."

But Gretel was persistent. "Once I get them out and we are in the clear, tell the Evil Queen to start blasting away at Venger! But for now, I need you to keep him _distracted_!" Before Emma could reply, Gretel ended the call, stuffing the phone into the pocket of her peasant dress that moments ago had been jeans and a tee-shirt. She then picked up the bolt cutters, and prepared to move in at the first opportunity.

Emma moved closer to Regina and Diana and told them about the call. "I don't like this, Regina. Putting that little girl in danger . . . ."

"Gretel did it on her own," said Regina flatly. "Nobody ordered her. Besides, I've seen what she is capable of doing. She and her brother have already offed one witch. If you are going to feel sorry for someone; feel sorry for Venger."

"Wait, did you just say "Gretel," Regina," said Diana. "As in "Hansel and . . . ?" _That_ Gretel?"

Before Regina could reply, Eric said, "Sure, honey. Why not? I mean, we are standing next to Snow White, Prince Charming and the _Evil Queen_, here . . . ."

As much as Regina wanted to reply to Eric's snarky comment, she knew that Henry and his friend needed to be freed from the cage they were trapped in. And for the moment, Gretel seemed to be the boys' best, if not _only_ hope, and Regina was not going to waste it for anything. "Venger!" said Regina, taking a step forward as she caught the Archmage's full attention. "Let our sons go, NOW!"

"You are in no position to make demands, Regina!" replied the Archmage. Regina responded by conjuring a fireball that she held at the ready. Venger assumed a fighting stance as he raised his own hands, which glowed with eldritch energy, as he prepared to strike.

And Gretel saw the opening that she needed. She kicked off her shoes and quietly climbed onto the stage in bare feet to keep from being heard while Venger was distracted, and crept toward the cage where the boys were being held. Kosar noticed her and nudged Henry. When both boys' eyes were on her, Gretel held a finger to her mouth for silence. As the standoff-banter continued between Venger and the Evil Queen, Gretel positioned the bolt cutters.

Kosar started to thank the girl, but Gretel shushed him and whispered, "Get ready to run! Get to Sheriff Emma Swan. She'll get you both out of Storybrooke and to safety!" Then Gretel put all of her strength into the bolt-cutters, but the padlock was harder than she thought it would be. Gritting her teeth, she tried again, this time cutting through the shackle, but the lock still held firm. Then Gretel realized that the shackle and the lock's body were actually one piece! She quickly tried to reposition the bolt-cutters to cut the other end of the shackle, but the snapping noise of the first cut had caught Venger's attention.

"And what is this . . . ?" Before Gretel could react, Venger grabbed the girl's left wrist, pulling her up high enough for her face to meet his. Thinking fast, Gretel kept her eyes on Venger as she let the bolt-cutters slip from her right hand, half tossing them so that they would be as close to the bars as possible, allowing the boys to get at them and hopefully free themselves. Though Venger's grip felt like an iron vise, the girl continued to struggle against the Archmage's grasp. She knew that she could not break free, but her resistance would keep him distracted. And as he took her measure, the girl knew that her new plan was working . . . .

"I have heard of you, little girl," said Venger. "So have all Dark Wizards and Witches in the Enchanted Realms. It was you and your brother who killed the Blind Witch of the Gingerbread Cottage, was it not?"

"Yeah, that's us, Horn Head!" said Gretel as she struggled to free herself from Venger's grip; mostly to keep Venger's attention on her, and not on the boys in the cage. "AND _YOU'RE_ NEXT!" The Archmage's eyes flared with rage at the girl's insolence, but at least it kept his attention focused on her and not on Kosar and Henry. Venger scowled, and Gretel met his stare with a hard look of her own that made Venger pause. Yes, Venger saw fear in the girl's eyes, but it was merely the fear of sustaining injury or even of death. But Venger saw no fear in Gretel's eyes by the mere fact that he was a powerful Archmage and Warlord in and of itself. What Venger _did_ see in Gretel's eyes was pure defiance seasoned with anger, and Venger found it to be most impressive . . . .

"Such spirit you have, little Gretel. It would be a shame to let it go to waste. Perhaps I should bring you with me along with the boys when I return to my Realm. But to what end? The son of the Cavalier and the Acrobat and his friend Prince Henry shall suffice for my own needs. I have no need for yet a _third_ apprentice." Venger regarded the defiant girl thoughtfully, and said, "But perhaps Zelena of Oz or Cruella de Vil would like to have a new serving wench? Shall I present you to either of them, little witch killer?"

"_SCREW YOU!"_ screamed Gretel as she kicked the Archmage as hard as she could in his knee with her bare foot. Though Gretel scarcely injured Venger, it was the opening that Kosar and Henry needed. Working the bolt-cutters together, the boys snapped the lock on their cage and were free! Venger released his grip on the girl, letting her fall to the stage; preparing to cast spells at the boys as they fled from him. But instead of running away, (and to the horror of everyone watching,) Henry and Kosar went straight for Venger!

Henry ran in front of the angry warlock, quickly helping Gretel to her feet, and Kosar ran behind Venger, dropping on all fours behind the Archmage's legs. Immediately sensing what Kosar wanted them to do, Henry and Gretel, reacting on millennia of hard-wired childhood instincts, shoved against Venger, who fell backwards over Kosar. The Archmage roared with rage as he landed unceremoniously on his backside. Then Henry and Gretel helped Kosar to his feet, and all three children jumped from the stage and ran off to the side where they could avoid the cordon of Venger's orcs and seek cover from behind a line of tables and parked cars as they sprinted to where the No Longer Young Ones and the Storybrookers were waiting for them.

Venger sprang to his feet and cast three deadly rapid-fire eldritch bursts after the fleeing children. But Venger's magical attack was deflected harmlessly away from them by a shield spell conjured by Regina. Venger scowled when he saw that the three children had made it back to the line of Dungeon Master's Pupils and the Storybrooke residents. Some of them helped get Hansel and Gretel get to relative safety away from the Town Hall as still more of them took the son of the Cavalier and the Acrobat and Prince Henry to one of the Storybrooke Sheriff's cruisers. Once the boys were inside, the daughter of Prince Charming and Snow White scrambled into the drivers' seat and then sped away to the town line.

And while Venger was distracted by these events, Presto cast a spell that brought the Weapons of Power back to their rightful owners. Eric and Diana nodded to each other as they felt the familiar sensations of holding shield and javelin, even as the others held bow, cloak, and thunder club. And even though it was not needed, Presto put the hat on his head.

Venger taunted, "So, the Magician with the Pure Heart comes to the aid of the Evil Queen? Why do you do this? Are you perhaps, _involved_ with one another?"

"None of your business, Horn Head!" said Presto. "But if you must know, yeah, 'Gina and I are friends. But that's all we are, for now. And by friends, I mean friends _without benefits_, if you know what I'm saying. I mean, sure, it _could_ become something _more_, later . . . .

"But that's neither here nor there! Now, leave us alone unless you want to reenact the last battle scene in "The Deathly Hallows." And guess who gets to be _Harry Potter_ and who gets to be _Lord Voldemort_ . . . ?" Presto conjured a fireball to emphasize his point.

Venger glowered at Presto. "Did I not _warn_ you in the past to be careful what you say when you speak of _magic_, Magician? Now, you will see _whose_ powers are truly superior!"

But before Venger could strike at Presto, Regina stepped in, glaring at him with a near-maniacal grin. "Don't bother with Russ, Venger. You've got other worries, now that my son and his friend are safe, and of those worries, I am the _worst_! Now, it's just you and me, you overgrown, lopsided Billy goat . . . ." The Evil Queen's expression sharpened even more as a fireball appeared in each of her raised hands.

"Well-played, Regina," said Venger as his own hands began to glow with dark magic. "It would appear that the Dark One and Cora have trained you well . . . but not well _enough_!" While everyone's attention was focused on Venger, they did not see that his Ferrari Testarossa had turned back into its fearsome Nightmare form. The Archmage nodded and the demonic creature reared, snorted, and sped after the Sheriff's Cruiser, its hoofs striking sparks on the street as it ran after its soon-to-be-victims. Mary-Margaret fired several arrows after the nightmare. None of them hit the creature, but several of her arrows managed to shatter the windshield of a small blue car parked off to the side.

"M-my _Miata_," said Doc forlornly. He then turned to Mary-Margaret. "Nice shooting, _Katniss_!"

"Forget your damned _car_!" said Grumpy. "We gotta keep the _boys_ and _Emma_ safe! We gotta stop that _nightmare_!"

"My nightmare cannot be stopped, dwarf!" said Venger. "The son of the Cavalier and the Acrobat as well as Prince Henry and his mother Princess Emma shall all perish in agony!"

"But you won't live to see it happen, much less gloat about it, Venger!" spat Regina. "Oh, you've been _asking_ for this for a _very_ long time!" The Evil Queen began bombarding Venger with fireball after fireball, and Venger realized that he had underestimated not only Regina's power but her determination as well. The Evil Queen had to know that she could not possibly destroy Venger in a wizards' duel; even she knew that that had to be improbable if not impossible. Nor was she attempting to destroy the portal spell forming that would be Venger's way home to his Realm in the Land of Vibrant Colors – if anything she wanted him to use it as soon as possible. Venger could also tell that Regina was attacking him with no regard for her own survival. And it was then that Venger also realized that he had underestimated Regina's pure viciousness. It was a viciousness that he had never seen in any of his previous opponents, not even in Kelek. It was the viciousness of a mother protecting her son - a mother who also happened to be a _very powerful witch_ . . . .

The force of Regina's onslaught drove the Archmage back. Realizing that he needed backup, Venger commanded his orcs to attack Regina. The orcs charged and were immediately driven back by a barrage of arrows from Hank's and Mary-Margaret's bows. Two orcs fell to Mary-Margaret's arrows, but many more were dispatched by Hank's magical arrows of light. Aided by the Former Young Ones with their Weapons of Power and Prince Charming with his sword, Venger's orcs were quickly defeated.

Mary-Margaret took a second to admire the Ranger's bow, then turned to David, smiled and said, "Charming, I know what I want for my birthday!"

As Venger fought off Regina's magical assault, he was painfully aware that he was losing his advantage. His orcs had fallen. His servant, Shadow Demon (relatively young for one of his kind,) had yet to learn the art of stealing shadows, and would be useless to him in this fight. And since Venger had sent his nightmare to kill his erstwhile prisoners, she could offer her master no assistance in his battle with the Evil Queen.

True, Venger had the Dark One's Dagger and could summon Rumpelstiltskin to destroy his enemies. Not even the Evil Queen, aided by Dungeon Master's No Longer Young Ones and the townspeople of Storybrooke could overpower the Dark One. But this would be seen by all as an act of desperation (if not outright cowardice,) and Venger could not suffer the blow to his honor were knowledge of his cry for help to spread.

The shepherd boy who would be king, sword drawn, said, "Call off your nightmare, Venger! Do this and we will permit you to leave in peace!"

Venger turned his attention to the pretender to King George's throne. "Never, Shepard Boy! You and Snow White shall pay dearly for what you have done to Maleficent and I! And the price shall be your daughter's and grandson's lives!" But in doing so, he took his full attention away from the Evil Queen. It was a critical mistake.

Though a detached part of Regina's mind wondered what Venger had meant by that last remark (what could _those_ two idiots have possibly done to Maleficent, much less Venger?) there was no time to ponder it at this point.

Taking full advantage of the Archmage's distraction, Regina did something that took everyone completely by surprise: she attacked Venger _physically_. Before the Archmage realized what was happening, the petite woman vanished in a burst of purple smoke and in another burst of smoke, appeared next to him.

The Evil Queen pounced like an angry cougar, causing Venger to lose his balance and end up on his back with Regina on top of him, pinning him to the ground. Then, without giving her opponent any time to react, Regina plunged her hand into Venger's chest, her fingers grasping for his heart.

Venger quickly retaliated by grasping Regina's neck with both hands and began to tighten his grip. But the Cavalier and the Acrobat came bounding onto the stage to the Queen's aid, each one trying to pry the Archmage's hands from Regina's neck. Though they were unable to do this completely, their interference was enough to allow Regina to draw breath and press on with her attack.

None of the four grapplers said anything. No threats, taunts, demands for surrender or even smack-talk. Just the odd gasp and grunt as they remained focused on their individual tasks at hand. Regina tried to take Venger's heart. Venger tried to choke the life out of Regina. Eric and Diana tried to pry Venger's hands from Regina's neck. But even as the Montgomerys struggled to free Regina from Venger's grasp, they were inadvertently keeping Regina from tearing out the Archmage's heart by restricting Regina's ability to move.

This stalemate could not be maintained forever and all involved knew it. Redoubling his efforts, Venger tightened his grip ever harder and Regina started gasping for air as her face began to take on a slight blue tinge. The sight of Regina's undoubtedly imminent demise caused a grin to appear on Venger's face. But the Archmage's grin was short lived as his expression became a grimace of pain. Regina, Eric and Diana were thrown back as Venger removed his hands from Regina's neck to bring them to his eyes, or rather; to something invisible that was gouging his eyes, forcing him to release his grip on Regina.

Now Venger had a firm grip on the wrists of The Thief, who became visible when the hood of her cloak was shaken off of her. But before Eric and Diana could go to Sheila's aid, Regina caught their attention, and said, "I've taken Venger's _heart_! We can _control_ him with it! We can best help Sheila by finding where Venger's heart went!"

"No need to look for it," said Hank firmly as he held up a heart-shaped lump of glowing obsidian that he had caught when it had slipped from Regina's grip. "Hey, Venger! Say hello to my little friend . . . !"

Venger released Sheila, throwing her hard to the ground. Then he quickly reached into his robes and pulled out a dagger with a wavy blade. Hank tightened his grip on the heart and Venger clutched his chest with his free hand, allowing Sheila time to scamper out of Venger's reach. But Hank noticed that something was amiss. The Archmage could have killed Sheila with the dagger, but made no attempt to do so, much less attempt to take her as a hostage.

Instead, Venger held the dagger aloft and said, "DARK ONE! I SUMMON THEE!"

Regina yelled, "Hank! Speak _into_ the _heart_ and order Venger to give ME the dagger!"

Hank did not reply to Regina. He kept his attention on Venger. At least, he thought he did. But now, _Mr. Gold_ was standing to Venger's right; his expensive business suit replaced by a medieval outfit with a jacket that seemed to be made out of crocodile hide. Moreover, the Pawnbrokers _skin_ seemed to have taken on the appearance of gold scales!

"RETURN MY HEART TO ME, RANGER, OR SUFFER THE WRATH OF THE DARK ONE!"

Without allowing the Archmage time to think, Hank responded by squeezing Venger's heart firmly. The Archmage winced in agony, dropping the dagger to the ground. As if snapping out of a trance, Mr. Gold moved swiftly to pick it up, but before he could get to it, the dagger rose from the ground, moving toward Hank in a jerky motion. Throwing off her hood, Sheila appeared next to her husband, holding the dagger.

"Well played, Thief," said Venger.

Regina said, "SHEILA! GIVE ME THE DAGGER!"

"Ah, Mrs. Grayson, Dearie?" said Mr. Gold. "I would be forever in your debt if you would give the dagger to me; it is my property, after all . . . ."

But Sheila said, "Sit down and shut up, Mr. Gold! I'm trying to think!" Hank blinked as he saw the wealthiest, most powerful man in Storybrooke immediately sit cross-legged on the ground, his mouth closed!

"Hank! Sheila!" said Regina urgently. "_Please_ give me the heart _and_ the dagger! I think that I can best use them to insure the safety of my son and his friend!"

Again, Hank ignored Regina, holding up the Archmage's heart, meeting Venger's eyes with a hard stare of his own.

Venger raised an eyebrow, and said, "Do you remember the last time when you held my life in your hands, Ranger? It was that time in the Dragons' Graveyard. You could not bring yourself to kill me then, and I believe that you will not be able to kill me now, lest you risk darkening your own heart . . . ." Venger clenched his teeth as he felt Hank tighten his grip.

"_That_ time in the Dragons' Graveyard, I did it for "us," Venger," said Hank through his own clenched teeth. And Venger understood that the "us" that the Ranger spoke of meant the Young Ones. "_This_ time, I'm doing it for my _Godson_ Kosar and his _friend_ Henry Mills.

"Now you are going to do _exactly_ as I say, Venger," said Hank. "Call your nightmare back and let the boys and Emma leave unharmed! And then, YOU leave Storybrooke in peace, and never return!" Venger glared at Hank, glancing in the direction his nightmare ran after the Sheriff's Cruiser. "DO IT, Venger!" ordered Hank. "Or I might just be tempted to give this piece of trash that I'm holding over to Eric and Diana to do with as _they_ see fit . . . ."

"We'll be at the Town Line in a few minutes, boys," said Emma. She gripped the steering wheel tight, never taking her eyes off the road. "We should be safe once we have left Storybrooke."

"Uh, Miss Swan?" said Kosar. "Don't look now, but I think we got _company_ . . . !"

"Mom, it's Venger's nightmare!" said Henry. "It isn't a Ferrari anymore, and it's gaining on us!"

"A _horse_?" said Emma, taking a quick glance back in her rearview mirror. She knew that as powerful as the Sheriff's Cruiser was, it could not outrun a Ferrari Testarossa. But how could it catch up with them as a horse? Emma shook her head in disbelief. "_Really_ . . . ?"

But Emma could see that it was no ordinary horse. The jet-black, red maned creature that was fast gaining on them was big enough to make a Clydesdale look like a Cocker Spaniel. "That's definitely not My Little Pony . . . ."

As soon as it got alongside the Sheriff's car, the hellish equine bumped it hard with its flank. Before Emma could fully regain control, the nightmare tried again. Thinking quickly, Emma slammed on the brakes, making the nightmare overshoot the nose of the car and stumble into the roadside ditch. Emma hoped that the monster broke a leg and would no longer be able to follow them. But to Emma's surprise the nightmare galloped out of the ditch smoothly and once again began to gain on the speeding Sheriff's car.

"How can a horse keep up with a _Police Cruiser_?" said Emma. "We're almost doing 70!" Emma knew that the Sheriff's car could go even faster, but the road conditions would not allow for it.

"It can _fly_, Miss Swan!" said Kosar. "In the cartoon, it could even overtake an F-35 jet fighter!"

"Mom!" said Henry. "It's _flying_ right now!"

"Where . . . ?" said Emma, quickly looking around.

"Not in the air, mom," said Henry. "It's kinda _hovering_ a couple of inches off of the road!"

Emma nodded. "So _that's _how it didn't trip and fall when it went into the ditch . . . ."

"It's coming at us again!" said Kosar. And just as he finished speaking, the nightmare moved to strike the car again, but failed when Emma took evasive action.

"Way to go, mom!" said Henry.

"It's gonna try hitting us again, Miss Swan!" said Kosar.

"Well _two_ can play at that game, Kosar!" said Emma. "Brace yourselves, boys! We're about to give My-Not-So-Little-Pony here a little _payback_! Hang on . . . !"

The nightmare kept pace with the Sheriff's car, preparing to once again try to force Emma and the boys off the road before they could leave Storybrooke. But Emma had other ideas, and swung the front of the car at the nightmare, aiming for its front legs.

"Eat it, _Twilight-Sparkle_!" hissed Emma through clenched teeth as she struck the nightmare's right front leg with the Sheriff's car. Though she was not able to injure the monster, she did force it to break-stride. Once again, the road was clear for them as the nightmare fell back by several car lengths. Then Emma saw the sign by the road that said, "Leaving Storybrooke" just up ahead.

"This is it, boys!" said Emma as she slammed the pedal to the metal. The speedometer hovered just under 80 mph, but the nightmare was again pacing them. The beast struck the car, and this time Emma could not swerve in time to avoid it, forcing the car into the roadside ditch as her world went white when the airbags deployed. Quickly, Emma regained her senses and tried to back the car out, but felt the wheels spin helplessly.

"Boys, are you alright?!" She turned around and saw that both her son and his friend were dazed and bruised, but otherwise alright. Seconds later, the trio was out of the car and on the road, the nightmare stood about thirty feet away, behind them. But thirty feet _ahead _of them was the Storybrooke Town Line and safety. Instinctively, Emma knew that the magical creature could not exist in a world without magic. The nightmare must have known this as well, for it snorted at the woman and the boys menacingly. "Get ready to run for it, boys!" said Emma as she reached into the car and removed the shotgun from the rack behind her seat. "I'll hold off this nag while the two of you run for the town line!"

Kosar blinked when he saw Emma Swan standing between them and Venger's nightmare. His mom and dad may be The Acrobat and The Cavalier from the old "Dungeons and Dragons Cartoon." But Henry's mom looked like she was channeling _Sarah Connor_ from the "Terminator" movies! If anyone could hold off that nightmare, it was Emma Swan!

The nightmare began to slowly approach the young blonde woman and the two frightened boys. It snorted at the trio, and black smoke came from its nostrils while it scratched the ground, its hoofs striking sparks against the paved road.

Emma responded by pumping a shell into the chamber of the shotgun, her face streaked with sweat and determined rage, making the nightmare pause momentarily. "BACK AWAY FROM MY SON AND HIS FRIEND, YOU _BITCH_!" But once again the nightmare began to advance and Emma prepared to fire. "RUN, BOYS!"

The nightmare leapt forward, but before Emma could fire and the boys could run, the demonic creature was caught in mid-leap as a beam of sparkling crystals caught it and a block of solid ice formed around its legs, transfixing it to the road. The creature made an angry sound, but was otherwise powerless. For now . . . .

"Wha . . . ?" Emma watched as another beam of ice blasted the nightmare, reinforcing the first. The trio rounded to the source of the beam of ice, and was surprised to see an older and very attractive blond woman in a flowing white dress. The woman came over to the younger woman and the two boys, her dress trailing behind her. Both boys stared (maybe a little _too_ closely,) in amazement and Emma stared in unabashed surprise. "Y-you . . . !" stammered Emma. "Sarah? Sarah Fisher?! But, this can't be! You haven't _aged_ since I last saw you! How – what did you do to Venger's nightmare, and . . . and - ?"

But the older woman shook her head. "Emma, dear, there is no time for these questions now!" Nervously, Sarah glanced back to where she had frozen Venger's nightmare to the pavement as it struggled to free itself. Though the ice was thick, she knew that it would not hold the monster forever. "In the Enchanted Realms, my name is Ingrid of Arendelle. But now, you need to get yourself and the boys safely over the Storybrooke town line, where the creature will be unable to follow you!"

"But . . . ."

"Go _now_, Emma!" insisted the woman. "I cannot take the chance that Venger won't teleport here if he senses that his nightmare is in trouble! He must _not_ know that I am here and that I am helping you! If he finds out, then he will take his wrath against me out on my homeland of Arendelle – _defenseless _Arendelle – the moment that he returns to the Enchanted Realms!"

Though the cold did not bother her, Ingrid shivered at the thought. Arendelle's policy towards the Realm of Dungeons and Dragons was simple: Do _nothing_ to attract Venger's attention. Do _nothing_ to provoke his wrath. But let Venger keep one thought in the back of his mind: that to invade Arendelle would be to face the Royal Family, and their ice-bending magic; making any victory against Arendelle a potentially expensive, if not an outright Pyrrhic one.

Still, Ingrid harbored no illusions about the _realpolitik_ of the situation. She knew that her powers, (much less the powers of her niece, Elsa,) were no match for Venger. But she also knew that their presence in Arendelle acted as a kind of "deterrent" to Venger's ambitions. Up until now, Arendelle's strategy toward Venger was to not antagonize the dragon in the hope that it will eat them last; a strategy that Ingrid knew could not continue to work forever. _And with my niece Elsa trapped in that magical urn, _thought Ingrid_, Arendelle will be absolutely _defenseless _against Venger . . . ._

Emma was about to press Ingrid/Sarah Fisher for more information. Why was she in Storybrooke? How come she has not aged since they last saw each other? How did she do that Mr. Freeze number on Venger's demonic horse? But the desperation in the older woman's face made Emma hold her tongue. And there was Henry's and Kosar's safety to consider, as well as the fact that the nightmare seemed to be on the verge of freeing itself from the icy trap that Emma's former foster mother had set for it.

So Emma said nothing more. She nodded to Ingrid, who nodded back and said, "Be well and safe, my darling," before vanishing, leaving Emma and the boys alone with the nightmare.

Emma hefted the shotgun and said, "C'mon, boys! The town line is only another ten yards down the road!"

The standoff in front of the Storybrooke Town Hall continued. Regina shook her head, made a long, exasperated sigh, and said, "I can't decide which one of these two "Hero Couples" are the biggest idiots, here; The Charmings or the Graysons? Or maybe you both tie for first place!

"Hank! Sheila! Give me Venger's heart and Gold's dagger! It is our only chance to defeat Venger and make this town safe after he is gone; especially if the magic that he brought here does not go away with him!"

Sheila turned to Mr. Gold, who was still sitting silently between the two lines of opponents. "Wait. Mr. Gold, Regina says this dagger belongs to you. Is it yours?"

"Oh, aye!" said Mr. Gold emphatically, speaking for the first time since being told to by Sheila to sit down and shut up. "And if you still need proof, the dagger has my name from the Enchanted Realms engraved on the blade: Rumpelstiltskin!"

"_You're_ Rumpelstiltskin?" said Bob skeptically. "The dude from the fairy tales who spins straw into gold . . . ?"

"Yes," said Mr. Gold with a touch of desperation. "Why do you have a problem believing that; especially since you are the Barbarian and your sister is the Thief from the Dungeons and Dragons Cartoon that came out about the time Storybrooke first appeared in this world?"

"Don't you get it, you dumb, miniskirted redhead?" spat Regina. "The Dagger of the Dark One _controls_ him! If you give it to him, you sign our death warrants! But if you give it to me, I can order him to destroy Venger and not harm anyone else here!"

There was something about the way that Regina said "destroy," that made Sheila feel a shiver run down her spine. Sheila shook it off, and said, "Is the Evil Queen telling the truth, Mr. Gold? Does this dagger control you?"

"Aye."

"Then prove it, and make Venger call back his nightmare!"

"Oh, there is no need for me to ask _him_, Dearie," said Mr. Gold. He waved his hand and the nightmare appeared on the Town Hall lawn between the two sides of combatants. She then trotted over to her master's side, and Venger gently stroked her flank in a comforting manner.

Eric put his arm around his wife's shoulders, and said, "Looks like we have a wizard that does what he is told, honey. I've always wanted one of those. Now, Sheila, order him to make Venger go back to where he came from and leave us all alone!"

But before Sheila could say anything more, Mr. Gold said, "Ah, slight problem with that last request, Dearie. In fact; _two_ slight problems. First, I can't make Venger go back."

"Sure you can!" said Eric. "Just make Venger step through his portal and go back to The Realm of Dungeons and Dragons!"

"Ah, to what portal are you referring, Mr. Montgomery?" said Rumpelstiltskin. The Dark One jerked his thumb toward the stage. The portal that Venger had been conjuring was no longer there.

"Alright," said Diana. "Then make him conjure another one!"

Venger smirked at Diana, and said, "To do what you are requesting I would need my heart back, as well as the magic of your Weapons of Power to attempt another portal. Will you give these items to me, Acrobat?"

Diana glowered at Venger. "That's _Mrs. Diana Montgomery_ to you, you . . . _you Cut-Price Voldemort_!"

"And what's your second reason, Rumpelstiltskin?" said Eric.

"Venger and his minions – and the six of you, too, for that matter - came to this world by a _different_ spell cast by one who is even _more_ ancient, and with even _more _power than possessed by myself, Regina, and Venger combined.

"If you want the spell that brought the lot of you to this world broken, then you'd better hope that Dungeon Master is able to convince he who originally cast it to end it, himself . . . ."

Emma led her son and his friend over the Storybrooke Town Line. After running another ten yards down the road, the threesome stopped and turned around. They could see the sign advising drivers who would never see the sign, much less ever enter the cursed town, that they were entering Storybrooke. But of Venger's nightmare, she was nowhere to be seen.

"What now, mom?" said Henry.

"I dunno, kid," said Emma. "I've got my phone in my pocket. I'm sure that someone will call us to let us know when it is safe to return to the town. But for now, I guess we should continue down the road until we find a bus stop. I still have an apartment in Boston that we can go to in the meantime to wait things out."

Kosar said, "We probably should wait until they call us, Miss Swan. My parents and the others will defeat Venger. I just know that they will! Then we can all go back to Storybrooke –"

"And live Happily Ever After . . . ?" came a gentle voice from behind them.

Emma and the boys turned around and saw Dungeon Master standing behind them. As if under some kind of spell, she and the boys all said, "Dungeon Master!" simultaneously.

The small, old man nodded solemnly, and said, "You know that that can never be, Kosar. You know that things need to be set right. You know what it is that you must do."

Henry said, "Kosar, what is it? What does Dungeon Master mean by all that?"

The son of the Cavalier and the Acrobat wiped a tear from his eye, and said, "Please, Henry, I just wanted . . . ." Then he turned to Dungeon Master, and said, "I just wanted a normal life, for a change! Is that too much to ask for?

"I just wanted a normal life. A normal life and a _friend . . . _."


	15. Noble Obligations

**Chapter 15: Noble Obligations **

"What do you mean by that, Kosar?" said Henry. "We _are_ friends."

"And so we shall always be," said Kosar sincerely. "But we are _not_ typical ten year old boys, Henry." Kosar shook his head and sighed wearily. "I am much, much older than ten. And I suspect that you may be, too."

"Hold on," said Emma. "Kosar, Henry _is_ ten. I happen to know this for a fact since I was, ah, kind of _there_ when he was _born_ . . . ."

Kosar looked like he was fighting back tears. "Miss Swan, you, your son and I are far older than either of you know." He turned to Dungeon Master, and said, "I know about myself. Am I right about Henry and Miss Swan, too?" Dungeon Master nodded.

"Wait, _what_?" said Emma. "Have I missed something, here?"

"You have missed nothing, Savior," said Dungeon Master. "Indeed, you and the Truest Believer are both from a place far beyond the stars, as is the Child of the Stargazer. You have fulfilled many destinies, and have many more yet to be fulfilled; the most immediate of these is to break the Dark Curse that is keeping all of Storybrooke in its grasp."

Emma planted her fists on her hips and said, "You're not making any sense, Dungeon Master."

"But he's telling the truth, Miss Swan," said Kosar. "Before I came here to this world, I was in The Realm of Dungeons and Dragons, where I freed the city of Torad from the tyrannical Queen Syrith. And before that, I did many, many other things of importance.

"But I am _tired_. I wanted a rest. I wanted to experience a normal, typical life and everything that such a life had to offer." Kosar turned to Henry and smiled. "I wanted the simple pleasure of having a real _family_ to love me. I wanted a _best friend_ to hang out with."

Then Kosar turned to Dungeon Master and said, "Please do not make Henry and Emma go through what I have gone through, and have yet to go through! Please speak to the Powers that Be and ask them to release them from a destiny that they had no part in choosing!"

"Alas, Kosar, I cannot," said Dungeon Master sympathetically. "And this is something that you already knew."

Emma said, "What is he talking about? What is being done to Henry and me?"

"It is difficult to explain, Savior."

"Try me."

"I am unable to, Savior," said Dungeon Master shaking his head. "Please know that it is no lack of desire on my part to explain it to you. But that rather, in the forms that we now occupy, I lack the _ability_ to _explain_ it to you; even as the three of you would lack the _ability_ to _comprehend_ any explanation that I would be able to provide, even if I _could_ provide one."

"Riddles . . . ," Emma snorted. "Just like your character in the cartoon."

"No," said Dungeon Master. "Not riddles. But the simple consequences of the practical limitations imposed upon all of us by virtue of the forms that we currently assume.

"But this is not relevant to us at this juncture. What is relevant is that things must be made right, once more, to allow the story of Emma Swan, the Savior, and Henry Mills, the Truest Believer, to continue as it must."

Emma said, "And how do you plan to do that, Dungeon Master; by sending us all back in time for a "do over," or something?"

Dungeon Master shook his head. "Alas, that cannot be done, Savior. Time travel spells have been attempted by many, many wizards and witches; but all have failed. Once an event has been written, there is no known _magic_ capable of undoing it."

"Yes there _is_," insisted Henry. "How about the "Time Lost" episode in the cartoon where Venger used the Crystal of Kronos to bring that pilot from World War 2 to fly a futuristic jet fighter for him."

"I saw that one, too," said Emma. "Venger also had a Viking and a Union Soldier from the Civil War, among others, locked up in his dungeon. He _must_ have used time-travel magic to do that!"

"No, not _magic_, Savior," said Dungeon Master. "The Crystal of Kronos represented advanced _technology_ from a long-dead civilization that existed in The Realm's forgotten past. Though Venger undoubtedly assumed that it was driven by magic, he was mistaken."

Emma nodded. "Any 'sufficiently advanced technology' and all that . . . ." Dungeon Master shrugged in agreement.

Henry said, "Then what can Kosar do to "make things right?"

"Kosar may not be able to "go back in time" to fix what he has done, Truest Believer," admitted Dungeon Master. "But he may still rewind the clock, in a manner of speaking. Am I not right, Kosar . . . ?"

Kosar nodded with resignation. "Henry, magic has the ability to make someone younger or older. Magic may also change a person's memory; the way that your mom, Regina, did with everyone here in Storybrooke. And finally, magic may be used to teleport everyone here from the Realm of Dungeons and Dragons back to the Land of Vibrant Colors to allow life in Storybrooke to continue as it must, uninterrupted."

"And you can do all this, Kosar?" said Emma skeptically.

Kosar wiped more tears from his face. "Yes, Miss Swan. I can." Kosar turned to Henry, and said, "Of all the lives that I can remember, in all the roles and duties that I have had to perform, I have _never_ had a friend as _wonderful _as you, Henry Mills.

"But know this now, even though you will not remember my advice the moment that you and your mother cross the town line back into Storybrooke: In the coming years, you will face many trials and many difficult choices. You may even be offered the opportunity to become an Author.

"But if you choose to accept, know that it is a thankless task devoid of happiness for yourself as you chronicle the stories of others in your assigned Realm of Storytelling. For you will be the Author of everyone's happiness but your own. It is a difficult responsibility; one that the current Author of your Realm of Storytelling has forgotten. It is something that I had also forgotten, or rather, to be honest, wanted to forget."

"Wait," said Henry. "You _knew_ what was happening to everyone from the start?"

Kosar sighed. "No, when I set these events in motion and attempted to write my own Happy Ending, I deliberately did it so that I would have no prior knowledge of having done so. It was as much an unwritten page for me as it was for you. That was the whole point. And though it was a story filled with anxiety; especially near the end, it was also a story of the love of a family. And of a lonely boy who finally found a friend that he could actually relate to."

Emma nodded, unsure if her son's friend was talking about himself, or Henry, or both.

"I'm ready now, Dungeon Master, to set all right."

Dungeon Master nodded, and said, "Then so be it, Child of the Stargazer."

Kosar nodded, and began to transform into a being of light that grew as tall as the trees lining the road. Kosar's voice came from everywhere as he said, "Goodbye, Henry Mills. And thank you for the brief, but wonderful childhood experience that we shared together. I shall treasure it, always . . . ."

The pillar of light that Kosar became began to glow even brighter, forcing Henry and Emma to shield their eyes. And then, just as abruptly, Kosar was gone, leaving the Savior, the Truest Believer, and the Dungeon Master standing in near darkness on the road just outside of the Storybrooke Town Line.

Hank Grayson held Venger's heart firmly as his wife Sheila stood beside him, holding the Dagger of the Dark One. As the standoff continued, the Ranger's mind raced as he tried to come up with a solution that would, at the very least, keep Kosar and Henry safe. As he did so, he noticed that a sly smile came across the face of Rumpelstiltskin, and tensed.

"You know, Venger," said the Dark One conversationally. "Even though your way back home is no longer available, it occurs to me that we both nonetheless have some unfinished business here in this world . . . ."

"Oh, so?" said Venger. "And what would that be, Dark One?"

"Well," said Rumpelstiltskin. "I first came to this world to find my lost son, Baelfire, who fell through a portal into this world many years ago. And it occurs to me that you have similar business, as well."

"My only desire is to return home to my Realm, secure in the knowledge that I am avenged for the slights of the Evil Queen and the Charmings."

The Evil Queen let out an exasperated groan, and said, "Will someone please tell me what these two idiots have ever done to Venger?"

"Ah, I'll give you a hint, Dearie," said Rumpelstiltskin. "It's something that they did to Maleficent, as well. Let's just say that the rumors about Mal losing her child were true, and that Venger is her Baby-Daddy!"

"I . . . see . . . ," said Regina, as she fixed Charming and Snow with a hard look.

"The daughter of Maleficent and Venger is alive and well and living in this world!" said the Dark One triumphantly. "We should join forces, Venger, and both look for our children in this world! And once we find them, then maybe we can get them together!

"What do you think about that, Venger? The son of the Dark One and the daughter of The Force of Evil married to seal our alliance! It will be the beginning of a dynasty that will rule not only The Enchanted Forest and The Realm of Dungeons and Dragons, but _this_ world as well!"

"Intriguing idea, Dark One . . . ."

Regina turned to Hank and Sheila, and said, "_Now_ will you give me Venger's heart and Rumple's Dagger? Only I can stop this!" The Ranger and the Thief glanced at each other, and nodded, loosening their grip on the items they held. Without wasting a moment, Regina waived her hand, teleporting the heart and the dagger over to her. Regina smiled, and said, "Sorry to disappoint you, boys, but it would appear that your deal just fell through!"

"Are you sure about that, Dearie?" said Rumpelstiltskin slyly. "There is no reason why you cannot be a part of our deal, as well, Regina."

"Now why would I want to side with you, _Dearie_, much less with _Venger_," said Regina. "Especially after Tall, Pale and One-Horned here _threatened_ my _son_ and his friend?"

Venger said, "I shall forego my sworn vengeance against you, Evil Queen, if you join with me and the Dark One, and help us reunite with our children. I shall have my daughter. The Dark One shall have his son. And you shall have Henry as well as the son of the Cavalier and the Acrobat, to be raised with your son as his brother."

"Think of it, Regina," said Rumple smarmily. "The people of Storybrooke want your head on a silver plate, and you said they could have it, so long as Henry was safe! Well, Henry is safe! But now you will die and _your _son will be raised by the daughter of Prince Charming and Snow White and will forever think of you as the Evil Queen! Unless, of course, you did something about it . . . ."

"Now, Regina," said Venger. "Give me my heart and give the Dark One his dagger! Join us, and you shall have your life and not one, but _two_ sons to call your own!"

Diana gasped, and moved closer to Eric. Would Regina actually accept Venger's and Rumpelstiltskin's offer . . . ?"

But before anyone could comment, Regina said, "Sorry, fellas. But today is the day that I decided to start learning from my mistakes! For my sins, I will die by the hands of my subjects, that is a given. But this way, my son will remember me as his _mother_; not as The Evil Queen!" Regina turned to Eric and Diana, and said, "Don't worry, Emma Swan will make sure that our boys will be brought up right! But for them to have _true_ safety, I shall have to be sure that these two are no longer a threat to either of them!"

"Do not be a fool, Regina!" said Venger as the wings on his robes spread wide. "Why should you side with those who will kill you and deprive you of your son, instead of rule with us?"

"Because that is something that _you_ want," said Regina. "And after what you tried to do to Henry and my friends' son, you do not deserve it!

"You are the fool, Venger! Hasn't anyone ever told you two that the most dangerous place to be is between a mother and her child . . . ?"

"You're no hero, Dearie!" sneered Rumple.

"Today, I am!" replied Regina smiling thinly. "Diana, Eric, please tell Henry that no matter what he might think or what anyone else may tell him, that I do love him!"

Diana did not even have any time to tell Regina that she would honor her request. The Acrobat suddenly realized that the night sky had grown as bright as a summer afternoon, and seemed to be getting even brighter, still. And Diana was not the only one taken by surprise. Next to her, Regina gasped as Venger's heart and the Dark One's dagger vanished from her hands.

"SOMETHING TERRIBLE IS HERE!" screamed Leroy. "WE'RE ALL DOOMED!"

Everyone looked around in amazement. Had their battle lasted into the morning? But the brightness was not the only thing that was amiss. Regina saw Russ standing beside her, but realized that he was smaller, and not that much older than Henry was. Quickly looking at the others, Regina saw that they had all become about thirty years younger than they had been moments ago, and all were dressed in smaller versions of their cartoon outfits. And that was not all. Regina realized that she no longer wore her regal dress, and was now once more wearing her 21st Century grey business dress. She also noticed that the other Storybrookers were back in the clothing that they were wearing before Venger brought magic to the town.

"R-Regina?" said Diana, who was now no older than fifteen. What is happening?"

"I – I don't know, Diana," said Regina, not taking he eyes off of Venger and the Dark One. "But I have an idea . . . ."

"T-the magic is being undone!" said Rumpelstiltskin in near panic. Regina saw that his face was now back to normal and that he was now wearing his expensive business suit instead of the crocodile skin jacket.

"All of the magic is being undone, Dark One!" said Venger, who remained in his dragon-winged robes and horned headdress. The Archmage promptly mounted his nightmare. "Come, Shadow Demon! We must leave before we are destroyed, along with Storybrooke!" Spurring his nightmare into the air, Venger and Shadow Demon flew into the sky, flying for a spot of darkness in the sky that seemed to shrink smaller as the light closed in around the town.

Eric took Diana's hand, and said, "Quick! Everybody under my shield!" The Ranger, the Thief, the Barbarian and the Magician promptly joined the Cavalier and the Acrobat in a tight grouping. "Regina! Charming, Snow, everybody! You have to get under my shield before I raise it, or I can't protect you!"

But Regina shook her head. "We will be alright, Eric. I cannot tell you how I know; I just _know_ that we must stay here."

"We'll be alright, too," said Mary-Margaret moving closer to her True Love, knowing that they were about to be separated, once again. "Won't we, Charming?"

"We will, Snow," said David resolutely. "Our place is here. But no matter what happens, we will _always_ find each other!"

"What about our _son_?" said Diana, looking at Eric. "What about Kosar?"

"He will be alright, too," said Regina reassuringly. "One way or another, I know that he will be alright. But now you must raise your shield, Eric." For a moment, the Cavalier and the Acrobat met eyes with the formerly Evil Queen. "Don't think that you are leaving your son behind," said Regina. "Think of it as giving him his best possible chance at a good life!"

"Do it, Eric," said Hank. "Raise your shield, now!"

Eric nodded, squeezed his wife's hand, and held up the Griffin Shield. Within the shield's protective field, the once-again Young Ones covered their eyes as they were surrounded by a bright light that blotted out everything else around them. But the last thing that they saw was Venger riding his nightmare hard for the darkness that remained in the sky with Shadow Demon flying just behind him.

Venger drove his nightmare harder and harder toward the dark opening in the sky over Storybrooke as the light closed in. Instinctively, he knew that the darkness offered safety, but the portal to this safety was shrinking smaller and smaller even as the nightmare rode faster and faster. Just as the Force of Evil thought that he would not make it through the opening and to safety . . . .

. . . . Venger brought his nightmare to a standstill in the sky, the cloud of green and purple that was the Evil Queen's Dark Curse had closed behind him, and then began to dissipate as quickly as it came.

"M-Master," said Shadow Demon. "We must get further away!"

"No, Shadow Demon," said Venger evenly. "We have escaped the Dark Curse of the foolish Queen Regina."

"But what of Dungeon Master's Young Ones, Master? Have they truly made use of the Queen's Curse to escape with the Weapons of Power?"

"I do not know, Shadow Demon. But we shall see. We shall see . . . ."

"Alright, Eric," said Hank. "Lower the shield, already!"

"I – I don't know, Hank," stammered Eric. "I don't think it is safe!"

"Hurry, Eric!" said Bobby. "The smoke of the Evil Queen's Curse is almost gone!"

"Please, Eric," said Sheila. "I want to go home! We all do!"

Eric lowered the shield just as the last of the green and purple smoke dissipated.

"Aw, Eric!" said Bobby. "We're too late!"

"Another chance missed," said Presto ruefully.

"Well, never mind," said Hank. "C'mon, let's get as far away from here as we can."

"Maybe we will see Dungeon Master soon," said Bobby hopefully. "Maybe he can get Uni back to us!"

As the Young Ones walked away from the barren land that was once the Enchanted Forest of the Evil Queen, the Cavalier and the Acrobat brought up the rear. They held hands, giving silent comfort to each other as they both dealt with a feeling of loss that they could not quite articulate into words . . . .

It took a few minutes for Emma's eyes to accustom to the darkness that had returned. To her side, Henry was wiping his eyes, and not just in an attempt to make the transition from brilliant light to nighttime in rural Maine. When Emma's vision had finally adjusted, she was surprised to see that between them and the Town Line about 30 feet ahead of them, stood Dungeon Master, looking in the direction of Storybrooke.

The small man turned around, and said, "There, Savior. It is done. All is as it was before my grown Pupils and the Child of the Stargazer had come to your town; more or less . . . .

"Now, it is time for a decision. Though I do not have the power to intercede on your behalf for the Powers that Be to relieve you from your burden, both you, Savior, and your son, the Truest Believer, have a rare opportunity that few of your kind have ever had.

"You may choose to re-enter Storybrooke, and once you do, your memories of the past week shall be no more, and your destinies may continue as they should, before they were touched by the Child of the Stargazer's spell.

"Or, you may both return to your apartment in Boston, and live out your lives as mother and son, your futures an open book. But you must decide on your course of action carefully, for once you decide there is no going back."

Henry said, "Dungeon Master, what happens if we do not return to Storybrooke and go back to Boston to live?"

"Of your futures, I cannot say," said Dungeon Master. "But of Storybrooke, the Dark Curse shall continue, and all will be trapped within it, including your mother, The Evil Queen."

"P-please don't call her that," said Henry. "I know that she has hurt a lot of people, but she is still my mom! She fought to protect me and Kosar when we were escaping from Venger. She had to know that she would die in that battle, and that Emma would be the one to raise me. But she fought to keep me and my friend – and Emma – safe. There is good in her, I can see that now!" Henry looked up at Dungeon Master, who nodded to the Truest Believer silently. "And I want to help her find it!"

"It would appear," said Dungeon Master with a touch of pride mixed with relief. "That you have learned more than even I could have possibly foreseen, Truest Believer. You see, I also care about someone with darkness in his heart. But I know that he has the potential to be redeemed, and to be good, once more."

Henry turned to Emma, and said, "He means _Venger_, mom! According to the DVD that Kosar gave me, Dungeon Master is supposed to be Venger's _father_, isn't that right, Dungeon Master? Dungeon Master . . . ?" Henry and Emma looked around them. Dungeon Master was gone.

Henry shrugged, and smiled broadly. "He does that all the time in the cartoon, mom!"

"Then I guess we go back, kid," said Emma smiling at her son. "I kind of have a Dark Curse to break, after all . . . ."

As mother and son approached the Town Line, they saw the first evidence that Kosar's spell had worked. The Sheriff's Cruiser, totaled by its encounter with Venger's nightmare, was no longer in the roadside ditch. Instead, the car was parked off to the side of the road, just inside the Town Line, as good as new.

Then, just before Emma and Henry could cross over into Storybrooke, Emma's cellphone rang. Emma looked wanly at Henry, and said, "It's your Other Mother, kid. I'd better get it."

Emma put her phone on speaker, and before she could say "Hello," Regina said, "Sheriff! I need you, now! Henry is missing, again! Is he with you?"

Emma looked over at Henry, who shook his head vehemently. Emma said, "No, Madame Mayor. Why would he be with me?"

"Never mind that, Swan! I want you to find him ASAP! It's almost midnight! Now, do your job, Sheriff, and _don't_ call me back until you have found him!" Regina ended the call with a very unladylike grunt. Cellphones may be a lot more versatile than their landline ancestors. But there was no cradle to slam the receiver down on when you wanted to hang up angrily.

Emma smiled. "C'mon, son. I'll take you to Granny's Diner for a late-night cup of hot cocoa."

"With whipped cream and cinnamon?" said Henry with a purely ten-year-old boy's grin.

"For you, the Truest Believer, only the best!" said Emma.

Mother and son held hands as they crossed over the town line, returning to Storybrooke to complete their unfinished business, both immediate and what had yet to come.

**The End**

**Author's Notes**

The idea for this story actually began as a single-panel cartoon that popped unbidden into my mind while watching "Once Upon A Time" (I had seen a few episodes of "Dungeons and Dragons" earlier in the day.) I imagined Regina Mills, Emma Swan, and Mr. Gold standing to the right of the panel. To the left, I have the Young Ones standing with Henry Mills. Behind them, Venger looms menacingly. Henry is saying, "Mom! Mom! Grandpa! The dude in the funny hat is being mean to my new friends . . . !"

But I did not stop with a simple snicker. I wondered what might happen next. It could lead to quite an interesting wizard's duel. (Or, considering that this is _Regina_ who we are talking about, the next thing we might see is Venger and Regina arm-in-arm with Regina saying, "Henry, I'd like you to meet your new _step-father_ . . . .")

My original idea was to set this story in The Realm of Dungeons and Dragons. The plan was to have the Young Ones find another roller-coaster car (like they did in "The Girl Who Dreamed Tomorrow,") and meeting Henry, Regina and Emma. They Young Ones are somewhat baffled by the way these people from "their world" are adapting to their new surroundings with total aplomb:

"The ride must have been an enchanted portal," said Henry matter-of-factly to the group of kids that they had just met. "When we got here, we were chased by trolls or ogres or something like that. But we were able to get away from them."

"Actually, son," said Regina. "Those are – or rather, _were_ – orcs . . . ."

I even toyed with the idea of getting the Young Ones home:

"Uh, guys?" said Sheila, still looking a bit queasy. "Did you all see what Henry's _mom_ did to Venger?"

"Which mom are you talking about?" said Diana suppressing a shiver. "The one who cut off Venger's head with a sword, or the one who ripped his heart out and crushed it . . . ?"

Another idea was for the Young Ones to be captured by Cora, who had an alliance with Venger, and attempted to escape with the aid of a fifteen year old Regina and her friend Daniel, the Stable Boy:

The dark tunnel seemed to go on forever, but eventually the Young Ones, led by Princess Regina and her friend Daniel, had emerged from the sally port, and found themselves a good distance away from the castle of Queen Cora.

"We're free!" said Sheila. "Thank you, Princess Regina!" Everyone else also voiced their thanks, making Regina blush.

Regina smiled. "I'd prefer it if you just call me "Regina." We are friends, after all!"

Hank added, "We could never have escaped without you and Daniel helping us. I just hope that your mother is not too hard on you when she finds out we are not in her dungeon, anymore."

Regina sighed. "I will be punished if she finds out that I was the one to guide you to safety. But she is my mother. Her wrath will subside, eventually . . . ." Regina then turned to the leader of Dungeon Master's Pupils, and said, "There is something that I have been meaning to ask you, Hank. "Hank" is such an unusual name. Does it have any special meaning in your world?"

Hank rolled his eyes. "Actually, "Hank" is short for "Henry." That is my given name."

Regina brightened. "Henry is my father's name, too!" She turned to Daniel, and added, "And if I ever have a son, that is what I want to name him, as well!"

Daniel blushed slightly, pointed into the woods, and said, "Just keep going in a straight line through the woods. Eventually, you will come to a road. Go down the road to your right, and it will take you out of the Enchanted Forest in less than a day."

"Thanks again, both of you!" said Hank. "C'mon, let's get out of here!" After saying their last goodbyes, The Young Ones began walking toward the woods. But after taking only three steps, the Young Ones stopped as a column of purple smoke swirled in their path and quickly dissipated, revealing Queen Cora standing with Venger. The Archmage was scowling, though Queen Cora was smiling pleasantly as she surveyed the group of frightened kids standing in front of her.

Looking straight at her daughter, Queen Cora said, "Regina? What is the meaning of this? Surely you are not assisting these prisoners to escape from my good friend, Venger?" Her expression then turned neutral as she fixed her eyes on Daniel. "And why is the Stable Boy here with you, Regina . . . ?"

"M-mother," said Regina. "You know that I don't like it when you use magic. And you should _not_ be working with Venger. H-his _evil_ is too well known!"

But before Regina could reply, a swirl of red smoke to the side caught everyone's attention. When it cleared, it revealed a short man with shoulder length hair and skin like golden scales wearing a jacket of crocodile hide. The man made a childlike laugh, and said to Regina, "Oh, you think that Venger is evil, do you, Dearie?

"Well let me tell you something; twenty years from now, you'll make Venger look like a Choir Boy . . . ."

Still another possible plot was to have the Young Ones meet fourteen year old Baelfire, with a battle between Venger and the Dark One in the offing:

"No," said Baelfire. "You don't understand. It's my _papa_, and he's . . . he's . . . the _Dark One_!"

"Wait," said Hank. "Are you telling us that your father is Venger?"

"Venger?" said Baelfire, raising an eyebrow. "No, Venger is not my father; my father is _Rumpelstiltskin_!"

Before any of the Young Ones could respond to what Balefire said, Venger appeared in the sky above them, and cast a spell that sent them all scattering. "SURRENDER YOUR WEAPONS TO ME!" demanded the Archmage as he brought his nightmare down to the ground, dismounted her, and strode over to the seven children and the one frightened baby unicorn.

Balefire swallowed hard, pointed behind Venger, and said, "Oh, gods no . . . !"

"Don't worry, Baelfire," said Diana, bringing her glowing staff to the ready. "We'll protect you from Venger!"

"N-no," said Baelfire. "It's not Venger who has me worried. It's . . . my papa! And he's found me!"

A grating, childlike laugh seemed to come from all around them and a short man wearing a crocodile skin jacket came up from behind Venger. The newcomer stepped between Venger and the children, and said, "Bae! I've been looking all over for you. Nice to see that you are in the company of other children your own age, for a change! You do not do that nearly enough!"

"What is your purpose here, Dark One?" thundered Venger.

"Ah, I was about to ask you the same thing, Dearie!" said Rumpelstiltskin. "I mean, I hope that you are not giving my son and his friends any trouble, are you, Venger?" The Dark One stepped closer to the Force of Evil, as if to have a private conversation, but he spoke loud enough for everyone present to hear. "Ah, you see No-Nose, it's like this. My son, Bae, does not have a lot of friends back home where we live. In fact, he does not have _any_ friends back where we live, at all! He says that I scare them away – personally, I don't see it – but, there you have it!

"So, here I see him with other children his age and yet, here you are trying to make trouble for them. Let me make this clear, you overgrown, lop-sided Billy goat: Step away from Bae, or I will make you pay. Do you understand what I say, or do you want to make my day . . . ?"

But in the end, the version that I actually wrote won out since I really liked the idea of giving Henry a friend his own age, however briefly, to hang out with (something woefully lacking in official OUAT canon.) I also liked the idea that in this story, Regina would have friends as well. She hit it off with Diana and Eric almost immediately, and the relationship that Regina had with Presto had the potential to develop into something even more.

In an earlier draft, I actually contemplated having Regina and Presto become full-on lovers, or at the very least, friends-with-benefits. In that version, when Henry came downstairs and finds Presto in the kitchen with Regina, I had both adults disheveled and barefoot; Regina in a bathrobe, and Presto (remember, he is in his late 30's / early 40's; a consenting adult, at the time,) bare-chested, wearing a pair of jeans, and nothing else. It was pretty obvious, (even to a ten-year-old boy,) what had gone on the night before . . . .

But in the end, I decided to keep the scene PG, as one of my readers advised me (quite convincingly) that Regina really needed a friend more than a lover; especially in the first half of Season 1, when she was in what could be fairly called a self-destructive spiral.

About the only thing that survived the revision was to have Presto still address Regina as 'Gina. (So far, I have yet to read any other OUAT fanfics where _anyone_ has called her _that_ . . . .)

A young acquaintance of mine insisted that I give Princess Elsa of "Frozen" a shout-out in my story. I determined that this would be possible since Ingrid in her Sarah Fisher persona would be in Storybrooke at the time my story takes place.

Now, what kind of "credible threat" would the Snow Queen Ingrid and her niece Princess Elsa present to a powerful Archmage and Warlord like Venger . . . ?

My own take is that while neither Ingrid nor Elsa would be able to _overpower _Venger in the long run, they _would_ still be able to keep Arendelle safe by serving as a "deterrent" to Venger's ambitions. Their cryokinetic powers would make the Conquest of Arendelle too "expensive" for Venger to undertake lightly. So long as Arendelle did nothing to overtly antagonize Venger, he would probably have kept "Conquer Arendelle" very low down on his "to-do list."

Anyway, thanks for reading, and I hope that you liked the story.

Finally, I want to say that no nightmares were harmed in the writing of this Fanfiction . . . .


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